Demons Within Me
by Demenior
Summary: Archie and Atlanta are only close friends, getting closer, but just friends. Then, along comes the demon Tulais with secrets big enough to make the gods fearful...
1. Training

**Demons Within Me**

**..I'd like to, but I don't own Class of the Titans- or Archie ):**

**Chapter 1**

It was a fairly abnormal day at Olympia High. Cronos was laying low and no monsters or any oddities had been reported in the city. The gang was just relaxing, for once, and trying to enjoy themselves in any way possible. They hadn't had a day off in some time now.

Jay and Theresa were taking a nice 'stroll' through the high school. Odie was teaching Herry how to play one of his video games, Neil, of course, was tanning. Archie and Atlanta, not having anything else to do, were having a friendly competition.

The main goal was to outdo the other in any way possible. The two were racing around the gym, dodging, diving, leaping and rolling in any way that would get them through the obstacle course.

"You're too slow, Archie!" Atlanta laughed as she pulled ahead from the older boy, "you'll be eating my dust any second at this rate!"

"Oh yeah?" Archie snorted, "I- I'd like to see that!"

Atlanta sighed. She never did understand why Archie got all tongue-tied around her and no one else. He was such a strange guy, acting like a jerk one minute, and then being all emotional and sarcastic the next. Although, he did get annoying at points when he was acting superior to everyone. Just because he had no real flaw, save for his oh-so-obvious heel, he didn't have to brag about it to everyone.

As Atlanta pulled ahead, Archie allowed himself to look her over. He had vowed, earlier on, that he wouldn't make any move on Atlanta or try to get closer than just a friend until she started getting interested in boys. But, Zeus above she was beautiful! She was everything he adored, wanted, dreamed. Strong, lean, graceful, spunky, rambunctious and spontaneous. And beautiful- far more the Aphrodite in his case. All the other men could have the god, all he wanted was Atlanta. Everyone liked her, admired her skill and liked her determined spirit. Everyone else thought he was a good fighter, but annoying and too arrogant for his own good.

But that was true, in some cases. He tried to be a good guy, but wasn't the best at socializing. He had spent almost his whole life training to be the best at everything. But that had meant he had given up socializing and hanging out with people. The gang, and especially Atlanta, were the first he had made a strong connection to in a long while. And he rather enjoyed it; he just didn't know what to do in a group. So he tried to stay quiet, but couldn't for long and just ended up having everyone get annoyed with him again.

But Atlanta was different. She didn't mind when he ranted about himself; in fact, she was more interested in how he trained and what he had trained in. But it was because of that knowledge that made her come to him, he was learning more and more to keep his mouth shut. It meant he could spend more time with her.

Suddenly, he noticed one of the mini-bolo's that they were practicing dodging from, fly straight at Atlanta! It was a miss-fire, flying too hard, too fast! It would seriously injure her! He could tell she was more focused on beating him, than to dodge, or even be aware of her surroundings, and he was not about to let her get hurt.

He was about to call out her name, but realized that would make her stop and turn back, she would be hit if she did so! So instead, he threw himself forwards and knocked Atlanta to the ground, just before the bolo hit her.

Atlanta let out an angry yelp, a little upset that Archie had just tackled her to the ground, but she heard a loud _SMASH_ coming form the wall, and her eyes widened when she saw the bolo, half embedded in the wall and causing a large crack through the stone. She realized that if Archie hadn't knocked her down… she shuddered to think about it.

"A-Are you alright, Atlanta?" Archie asked, breathing heavily.

"Y-yeah, I th-think so," she replied shakily.

"I almo- **We** almost lost you there," Archie stuttered.

She nodded quietly, then, realizing something.

"Hey… I was running fast enough, wouldn't the bolo have missed me?"

Archie stopped, he hadn't thought of that, only the fact that she might've been in danger had crossed his mind, "Uhh… err…"

Atlanta laughed and went to hit Archie, but he caught her wrists in a playful wrestle, "Archie! I thought you of all people would've thought about that! I could've saved myself, thank you very much!"

Archie smirked, "No, you couldn't."

"Yes I could!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Atlanta! Archie! Are you guys okay? We heard a crash and-" Jay cut off in mid step.

It was then that the two realized the awkward position they were in. Atlanta was on the ground, partially sitting up. Archie was on top of her, straddling her hips and holding her wrists just out to the side a tad. During their arguing, they had leaned in closer to each other so that their noses were almost touching.

Quickly, both sprang away, Archie was almost as red as Atlanta's hair, and Atlanta had a faint blush of pink across her cheeks.

"Sorry!" they both called to the other.

Theresa, hesitantly, stepped forwards, "Are you guys… alright? What happened?"

Atlanta, able to regain herself first, looked up at them and smirked, "Well, Mr. Weak-Heel over there saved me from a fate I could've easily avoided. And, uhh… we were, well… just arguing." She finished quietly. Archie nodded to emphasize the point.

Jay and Theresa nodded quietly. The redhead finally spoke up, "Hey, uh, Atlanta… you want to go shopping? I mean, we finally have a day off and all…"

Atlanta nodded quickly and the two left the training room.

Jay stood there, looking over the wall, to the floor, glancing at Archie and then back to the ceiling in a nervous manner. The two boys waited in an uncomfortable silence, just waiting for one or the other to say something. Rather, someone else did.

"Heeeey, guys! Why'd you go and leave me all alone like that? That's not very nice to do to the best hero on the team," Neil complained as he strode into the room.

Jay rolled his eyes, "Sorry Neil," he muttered, thankful for a distraction. Archie seemed to be thinking the same thing- he had never been happier to see Neil in his life.

"Whoa!" Neil cried suddenly, "don't tell me someone threw **that** into the wall?" he cried, pointing at the bolo impaled into the wall.

Jay's eyes widened at the sight. A large crack had been formed up the wall from where the bolo had struck. It was a good thing Archie had saved Atlanta, who knows what type of situation they could be in if he hadn't…

"…you guys are no fun! Let's go find something better to do- like some more tanning! We could all use a little bronze, eh?" Neil suggested.

Jay and Archie quietly followed Neil out, Archie still embarrassed by what had just happened, and Jay just not knowing what to say. Neil continued rattling off useless information on how tan guys always seemed to get the girls. They were nearing the entrance of the school when Herry and Odie came running up.

"Hey, guys, did something happen? Is everyone alright?" Herry called as they caught up.

"W-we heard a loud crash, and then Theresa and Atlanta just came by, and they seemed… distracted or something?" Odie panted as he skidded to a halt beside Herry.

They waited for a moment of silence, as Archie turned away to hide the blush on his face and Jay absentmindedly scuffed a shoe on the ground.

"Did… something happen that we should know about?" Odie asked hesitantly.

"No!" Archie blurted out suddenly. Everyone turned to look at him, and he shifted nervously under their gazes before turning and walking away as fast as he could.

**00oooo00**

"So… what exactly happened in there?" Theresa asked hesitantly.

Atlanta sighed and leaned her head against the side of the convertible. There really was no avoiding this, was there? She thought of any possible way to try and change the subject, but she knew Theresa wouldn't veer from the firm path she was set on so easily.

"Which part are you talking about? I thought I already explained it to you and Jay," Atlanta replied as calmly as she could, turning around to face her friend.

Theresa gave her a hard look over her black sunglasses. Atlanta's shoulders drooped as she tried to squirm into the seat.

"Well, I guess you should tell me how you and Archie… ended up on the… well, you know- on the floor," Theresa said uncomfortably.

"Well, why is it your business?" Atlanta huffed, hoping she could make Theresa too nervous to press the situation.

"Well, Atlanta, I'm your friend! And remember the last time you got so involved with a boy- he turned out to be controlled by Cronus, and was also the god of the forest- Pan!" Theresa ended in a near-yelling voice.

Atlanta winced; she had hoped Theresa wouldn't bring that up ever again. Although Panic had turned out to be Pan, he had made her feel an emotion she had never experienced before- and now there was something like an aching void in her chest every time a boy would give her a look filled with that strange emotion. She was still learning that she had begun to experience love, but was having trouble coming through to the fact that she wouldn't be able to goof around with the guys in the same way.

"Well, we were training, and then Archie saved me from being hit by a miss-fired bolo, and he tackled me to the ground. I… I asked him if he had considered the fact that I would've outrun the bolo, and not get hit by it. So then he teased me by saying I wouldn't be able to save myself. So I went to shove him, and he grabbed my wrists. And we were arguing when you and Jay came running in, and I didn't even realize the… position… we were in until you two stopped and were just staring at us!" Atlanta blurted out.

Theresa sighed, "Well, I'm glad to hear that you two aren't just rushing things."

"Yeah… wait! Rushing things? You think we're **dating**?" Atlanta cried with a laugh.

Theresa smiled, "Oh, I don't know. You two seem to be hitting it off pretty well- you both like the same things, you're both our 'Warriors', our 'go-get-'em' team, and you do seem to match off perfectly. I've also noticed how the two of you are around each other!" Theresa gave Atlanta a knowing wink.

"I- I thought we were just discussing how _inappropriate_ Archie and I were acting- and now you're here teasing me about liking him?" Atlanta laughed.

"Look, I was just worried about you. You're like my little sister, Atlanta. And I don't want you to get hurt," Theresa smiled, "but you have to admit- you do like him!"

"Only if you admit you really, really like Jay," Atlanta smirked. Theresa's face went red and she fell silent.

"L-lets go do some shopping now," she said quietly.

**Weee, lovely Class of the Titans. I hope this sounds any good to the people out there... who would even bother to read this XD**

**Anyways, review and tell me what you think- even if you don't like it.**

**If you want to read more, you're going to have to go over to www. Ficwad .com (without the spaces) and check out the Class of the Titans section there ;) **

**Demenior**


	2. WakeUp Call

**Demons Within Me**

**Disclaimer: see chapter 1**

**Warnings: some blood, violence, death, mild cursing, embarrassing moments, (possibly) fluffy scenes**

**Pairings: Archie/Atlanta, Jay/Theresa …. Neil/Neil and slight Tulais/Atlanta- but not in the way you're thinking!**

**Chapter 2: Wake-Up Call**

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

All was quiet in the dorm. Everyone slept soundly in their own rooms, not going to get up until 8:00, which was about four hours away. Some were snoring, others murmuring about gadgets and gizmos, or having wild , fun dreams. The rest all snuggled deeper into their warm beds and blankets… lost to the world for some time longer while they rested in a peaceful atmosphere…

Archie yelped as someone yanked him out of bed by his ankle (not his wonky one). He tumbled onto the floor in a sore, tangled heap. Quickly regaining his senses, he leapt upright and prepared to fight the unknown enemy…

"A-Aries? What are you- **Why** are you in my room?" Archie stammered tiredly.

"Get up boy; we're starting your training right now! You need to be in proper shape to fight Cronus and his minions!" Aries replied gruffly, the grin on his face made it obvious that he had been waiting for this moment for some time now.

"But at… at **Four o' clock** in the **morning**?" Archie cried, deeply horrified. This was not normal… this was not normal at **all**.

"Of course, what better time to start than when you'll have no distractions like pretty girls or the aroma of food, or a sunny day. Nope, when the sun 'aint out and there's no food or girls, that's when a warrior can really train. So get 'yer gear on, boy and get down to the gym!" Aries turned and strode out of the room.

Archie groaned and knew that it would be pointless to try and go back to sleep… maybe he could make a mad dash to someone else's room and hide there? Maybe… Atlan- NO! NO! NO! Bad thoughts, Archie- BAD THOUGHTS!

He slapped himself on the face to jolt himself awake, and realized he had left a red mark on his face. Great… what was he going to tell Aries- or anyone for that matter? …He'd make it up if anyone asked. Hopefully the mark would go away soon. He hadn't even meant to hit that hard…

Ah well, he'd have to get dressed and endure training with Aries at Four a.m. Archie sighed and dug out his sweatpants and green shirt. He quickly stripped out of his pajamas and dressed in his workout outfit. He lazily ran a hand through his hair, noticing the distinct, two cow-lick horns of hair he always had. He had once tried to wear a hat or something on his head to keep people from seeing them, as he had been told they would go away eventually, but they hadn't after ten or so years… he had grown used to them, but was still teased. Even about his mullet. What was wrong with a mullet?

He dug around his little mess and found his ankle-brace and sat down on the edge of the bed as he slipped it over his foot and tightened it slightly to fit. He got up and did a few test steps, then once satisfies he grabbed his sandals and a pair of socks just in case and headed downstairs.

Aries was waiting in the gym, impatiently tapping his foot. Archie walked in, still groggily stumbling around like a drunk idiot, but nevertheless, he had made it.

"You're late! It took you almost twenty minutes 'te get down here! Now, start off with ten laps around the gym, and then we'll move onto push-ups and crunches, fifty of each, and then we can work on your agility and then some blocking and some fighting!" Aries ordered.

"No, Aries… please! It's waayy too early for any train-" Archie tried to weasel his way out.

"GO!" The god of War cried.

Archie ran off quickly.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Jay yawned and stretched out. He got up, after having a nice, good rest, and headed downstairs for breakfast.

Theresa, Odie and Atlanta were already up. The odd thing was Archie wasn't up yet, oh well, he must've slept in a bit.

The group usually met in the kitchen, waking up an beginning to chat between each other as they ate breakfast. Jay poured himself a bowl of cereal and slowly began eating. It didn't seem like Theresa and the others had been up much longer than he had, they would've been more talkative if they had been.

"Good… morning," Theresa said quietly. They all responded with murmurs and gurgles that sounded vaguely like 'you too'.

"Ahh, I'm hungry," Herry announced as he entered the room. Surprisingly enough, after having grown up on a farm, Herry was used to getting up early and was always the first to be fully awake. Everyone chuckled at his greeting.

A while later, Neil finally came downstairs, toweling off his hair form his shower. Everyone ate in silence before Theresa pointed out the obvious.

"Hey, uh… where's Archie?" she asked quietly. Everyone looked over to Atlanta.

"How should I know?" Atlanta cried nervously.

Jay got up slowly, "I'll go check his room. He probably watched a movie late last night and he's trying to sleep in," the brunette chuckled to himself. Everyone else nodded, not wanting this to be one of Cronus's schemes… not this early in the morning…

Jay knocked on Archie's door and after a moment of no response, he opened the door. The room itself was fairly dirty, as could b expected of a perfect example of a teenage boy like Archie, but there was something… wrong.

The sheets on Archie's bed were thrown on the floor as if they had been ripped from where they usually were. Jay paled, if Archie had been kidnapped by Cronus, it could mean he was in serious trouble. The Leader turned and rushed downstairs.

"Archie's not in his room and it looks like he was possibly dragged out!" Jay reported quickly to the others. By now, everyone was awake and alert, feeling quite freaked out. If Cronus had Archie… no- no they couldn't think that! But if he hadn't been kidnapped… where was he?

Suddenly, the door opened and a weary, sweaty Archie stumbled in. Panting, he closed the door as they heard Aries shout form the other side:

"Same time tomorrow morning, be ready, boy!"

Archie groaned and nearly passed out. Herry caught him and pulled him over to the table.

"Whoa, what happened buddy?" Herry commented as Archie sat down on a chair.

"Aries… training… four a.m. …" Archie panted and leaned back in the chair. Everyone grimaced at the thought of being yanked out of bed that early.

Jay sighed, "Well, at least it wasn't Cronus that got you-"

"But **you** need to get a shower!" Neil cried, plugging his nose.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Slipping slightly in the wet, sticky mud, the large beast picked himself up again. He growled in disgust and shook some out of his thick, purple fur. Thoguh it wasn't much use, seeing as the torenchal rain had already washed most dirt and filth from him.

Perking his ears forwards, the almost-wolf looked up as he thought he smelled something familiar, but then shook his head. Anything familiar had been long lost to him now. Now he was doomed to wander forever because of one mistake he had made centuries ago.

Why the gods had cursed him, he could finally understand. Back then he hadn't. He had been so enraged, and that anger still burned within him. They had givin her back her humanoid form after some time (though what happened to her later was unknown) as a lion.

And yet, here he was, still so angry that he had sworn vegance upon the gods. So raged that he had called himself a demon and been banished form the Underworld even. No one would approach him now… and yet, he was lonely.

He longed for his old friend, back when he was a strong hero and not banished from the stories of Achilles. Yes, many of Achilles victories had been faught alongside this demon before, when he was human. They had been the closest of friends. And then he had left on an important errand and allowed Aphrodite's to get the best of him.

But he wasn't just angry with the goddess, he was angry with them all. They had all gathered together to protect Atalanta form him. And then she had begged that it be made that he never hounded any other with his tricks and stolen magic… so they had changed him.

And now he was this. The appearance of a large, shaggy reddish-purple wolf. Just slightly smaller than the Namean Lion. Two black horns stuck form his head to remind him of the goat form he had stolen from the gods, and then his eyes. They had become as red as blood, and yet as fierce as the hottest flame from Hades. He dug his long claws into the ground and pulled himself up over the ledge of muck.

Cramming his large mass into a small overhang, he curled up and closed his eyes wearily.

_I will continue my search for some way to repay you, my friend. You are still waiting for me because of my foolishness and lust. I will find a way to heal your weakness and then you can take your place as a rightful immortal, like Heracles, or even the gods…_

And with that, the fiercest demon of all, Tulais, closed his eyes and breathed out a soft sigh as he fell into a dead sleep.

_Until the morn' _

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**Alright! Look- I updated! And we have some Archie humor/angst, and we meet Tulais! Now, I didn't want to give too much away right now, but hopefully the action will begin to pick up soon.**

**Okay, I'm not so clear on what really happened to Atalanta and Meleger, but form what I understand… they commited a crime in the temple of Zeus and were turned into lions. So after that… I don't know, but I think she went on and had children, thus giving us the Atlanta we have in the show.**

**So yeah, for this story, Atlanta is the descendant of Atalanta.**

**And for my own purposes, I think I'll mainly have New Olympia located in Canada (probably like where Vancouver is if you're getting really technical) just because I know Canada and it'll be better for me if I can relate to the place. But those were my thoughts… I'm not sure still.**

**Review please, and hopefully I'll get another chapter out right away. Tell me what I need to work on, guys!**

**Demenior**


	3. Wet

**Demons Within Me**

**Disclaimer: See chapter 1**

**Warnings for this Chapter: It appears we have a triangle relationship…**

**Pairings: Same as Always, possible hints at Neil/Theresa  
**

**Chapter 3: Wet**

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

After having a shower and getting dressed in his regular clothing, Archie joined the others outside where they were relaxing before school started again tomorrow. He accidentally bumped into Atlanta and they shared an awkward 'hello' but then he proceeded to hang out with 'the guys' as they too were forced to hear Odie's lecture on his video game before amusing themselves watching Herry fail at it time and time again.

Theresa and Atlanta were just having a friendly conversation, and talking about the things they had bought at the mall yesterday. But Theresa couldn't help but notice how Atlanta seemed mildly distracted and was looking out of the corner of her eyes at the boys. Mainly Archie. Yesterday's event between the two of them must've still been fresh in her mind. Theresa giggled as she saw Archie look up and then realize Atlanta was watching him, so he turned away quickly. Atlanta did that same, a faint blush evident on her face. Theresa could only giggle harder.

"What's so funny?" Atlanta asked.

"Nothing," Theresa smiled knowingly.

Atlanta gave her a hard look, "What? Why won't you tell me?"

Theresa shook her head, "Oh, you know what I'm talking about. Let's go join the guys and plan something to do." She hopped to her feet and ran over.

"I what?" Atlanta muttered before jumping up and trotting over.

Theresa looked indifferently over Neil's shoulder, who was now playing the video game, and huffed in annoyance.

"Really now, do you always have to play those dumb games when we could all be off exploring or enjoying the day? I mean, it's amazing that we're having more than one day off from anything- school, homework and Cronus! We should go out and do something to celebrate," she grabbed Neil's arm and gave it a slight tug for emphasis, making the blonde drop the video game in surprise.

Atlanta was quite amazed by Theresa's actions. If she had ever done that to anyone, even Archie, they'd wonder why she was acting like a little girl. Was it because all the guys 'like-liked' Theresa that they let such things pass? And if so… why didn't they 'like-like' her? Was it because she was too 'guyish' and competitive? Archie did seem to like her… they spent a lot of time together, so did –he- like-like her?

"Alright you guys, let's listen to Theresa and do something today," Jay said as he placed himself between Neil and Theresa protectively. Neil scowled slightly, and then shrugged it off. He was beautiful, Jay was not. The blonde would let this… aggression towards him slide, -this- time.

"So what are we gonna do?" Herry asked as he bent down and picked the now-forgotten toy up. Odie gasped and rushed over and snatched it form him, dusting it off lightly and hugging it close as if he were afraid someone, or something, might swoop out of the sky and snatch the game from his hands.

"I'm not sure… any ideas Theresa?" Jay asked as he fondly looked down to the young woman beside him.

Theresa pondered nervously as all eyes were trained on her.

"H-how 'bout we go to the beach? It's a really nice day out!" Atlanta provided.

"I'm in," Herry replied quickly.

There were nods and words of agreement all around, and even Archie decided to come along even though everyone knew he'd never go into the water. So they went back into their rooms to get changed and pack up, helped make a picnic lunch, grabbed camera's and sunscreen, and piled into Herry's truck and left.

0000000000000000000000000

"I keep forgetting how nice the beach is!" Odie laughed as he stepped onto the sand.

"Last one in the water is a rotten egg!" Theresa cried as she dashed past the shorter teen.

"No fair- you have a head start and I need to put in my waterproof hair-spray!" Neil whined loudly. Jay, Atlanta and Odie ran forwards, Odie ended up being the rotten egg and got dunked numerous times by the others.

Archie helped unload the truck with Herry, and then set up 'their spot' while Herry parked the truck. He then put up a large umbrella and sat down on one of the blankets they'd brought and watched the others.

Herry, after locking and securing his precious truck, shot past Archie and released a huge cannonball into the water, creating quite a huge splash and received cheers and claps from the group as ell as some others in the water. Archie couldn't help but smile, and wish that he could be down there.

He went to get up, to force himself into the water so that he could be normal like his friends, but the thought and fear of drowning came rushing back to him and hi legs fell solid like stones. No matter how hard he tried, he'd never been able to get into water since… the 'accident'.

Ah well, he would just enjoy himself on the beach. Not being able to go into he water didn't mean his entire visit was ruined. He could still nap, eat a little, take a walk, watch Atlanta-

WHOA! That train of thought stops right there. It was true that he did spend time gazing out into the deep, dangerous and frightening landscape of the ocean down on the beach, and Atlanta might possibly be in the corner of his vision 99.99 percent of the time, only losing sight of her when he blinked, but he did not sit and stare at her all day! …he hoped.

Sighing loudly, Archie leaned back and lay down on the blanket, closing his eyes. He didn't realize he had fallen asleep until someone was nudging him awake.

"H-hey, Archie? Wake up sleepyhead." He had to smile at that, Atlanta just seemed to lighten up the mood, even if she was calling him lazy.

"Yeah?" he muttered, cracking an eye open.

She was sitting beside him, hair damp and hanging down around her shoulders, some stray bangs were curling down onto her forehead, like it always did when it got a little damp, and her blue eyes almost seemed to glow in the sunlight. She was wearing a grey T-shirt and some biking shorts as her bathing suit, and they were clinging to her form very well. Zeus's lightning she was beautiful!

"Why don't you come swimming with us?" Atlanta smiled her million-dollar smile and Archie could've died right then. He would've died happy. But then again… she had asked that he go… over there… where it was wet… and deep… and the possibility of drowning went up 100...

"Well, I, uh…" he fumbled over every word, not sure how to disappoint her beautiful face.

"I know you hate swimming, and you can't, and I understand if you're scared, but won't you come in at least just today? It'd be really cool, and you don't need to go in deep and we'll just play some water volleyball and you could just hang out instead of being alone! Just today, please?" Atlanta rambled, ending with the puppy-dog-pout. Archie's reply became jammed in his throat. Had the sun moved position around his umbrella, because he was really starting to burn up? When had it suddenly gotten so hot out?

"Do it for me?" she smiled at the sappy line, and her smile was once again contagious.

Archie took one last look out to the water, where he'd probably be spending his last few minutes with the guys before he went under…

Taking a deep breath, "Sure, why not? I'll do my best not to run out screaming," he grinned and she laughed at the thought.

He got up, feeling his legs turn to stone and she grabbed his wrist and pulled him forwards. At her touch, the lead left his legs and he easily waked with her down to the water's edge. She didn't really give him any chance to take a breath and reconsider his choice, which was probably a good thing because on his own he'd have been high-tailing it away form the water by now, and Atlanta pulled him right into the cold, dark, evil realm of the ocean.

Archie gasped slightly at the sudden drop in temperature on his legs, but it wasn't too bad. He was feeling extremely uneasy, but Atlanta was at his side and he trusted her not to take him out too far, where he'd ultimately drown.

"Guys, guys! Hey, guys! Look who's here!" Atlanta waved energetically as the others turned to look. Archie felt a slight blush of embarrassment at everyone's shock when they saw him in the water.

"Archie! Welcome to Wet Water World," Neil laughed.

"I can't believe Atlanta was able to get you into the water!" Theresa said, shooting Atlanta a knowing look. Not just any person would've been able to get Archie into the water this willingly.

Jay chuckled as he gave Archie a friendly slap on the shoulder, "C'mon, Arch, relax. You're so pale you look like you've never been outside!"

"Archie's on mine and Atlanta's team!" Herry called as he came back with the retrieved beach ball.

"Alright!" Atlanta pumped a fist in the air and shot off over towards their side of the 'field'. For a brief moment, as she let go of him, Archie nearly bolted then and there. Where she had kept her warm hand, the water was suddenly freezing and numbing his skin. He could've fainted right then, and gone under, into the deep oblivion of water and-

"Archie, hurry up over here and stop stalling you lazy bum!" Atlanta taunted.

All his fears washed away and he nodded quickly and wadded over to her and Herry. The rules were explained to him briefly, and for the first while he was hesitant and worried about slipping and falling under the water. But he could feel the soft sandbar under his feet, and it was sturdy enough and didn't seem to be ending any time soon. Once he slipped and went under, jumping up quickly, but he hadn't left and everyone recognized his bravery with a side comment or a slight nod. So, not after too long, he was jumping around and laughing like the rest of them.

He felt normal and unafraid.

And Atlanta was at his side.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**Yay! More Archie/Atlanta moments, a bit of the inner, brooding mind of Archie (let me know if it was okay to have that sort of stuff in here or if you'd rather just keep it to actions and words, not thoughts)**

**And Archie actually got into the water!**

**One thing I tried to keep current in the beach scene, was the fact that Archie hates water and is indeed afraid of it. So his descriptions were not of 'peacefully, beautiful waves lapping against the shore' but more of a dark, underlying and conspiring force that's just waiting to take him down. **

**Now I hope you understand, and aren't too disappointed by this, but the brief, happy time together is coming to an end shortly. What I want to do is show you how 'normal' and peaceful the lives of these teens are right now. It'll be easier to understand the changes they have to go through when the action really heats up.**

**So don't worry, Cronus will rear his ugly head soon, the giants will pop up once more and Tulais will soon sink his fangs into the destiny and lives of the group. **

**Please review/rate/favorite or watch this story, and I hope you really enjoyed it.**

**If you're hoping this story will stay light-hearted and fun the whole time- think again and buckle yourselves in for some dark, heartbreaking moments ahead. But for some time, it'll go pretty smoothly…. I hope.**

**Demenior**


	4. Awake and Dreaming

**Demons Within Me**

**Disclaimer: see chapter 1**

**Warnings for this Chapter: A short scene on Tulais's hunt that could make some people fidget, but it's nothing gory- just a neck snap…**

**Pairings: Same as always**

**Chapter 4: Awake and Dreaming**

**000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

It was actually some time later when the group left the beach, and Archie could easily say it had been the best day ever for him. They were all tired and worn out, Atlanta leaning against his shoulder and her eyes closed and a light sleep. On her other side was Neil and Odie who were slightly fighting the oncoming drowsiness, but quickly succumbing to it. In the front, Theresa was leaning on Jay's shoulder and he was just wrapping an arm around her. Herry was the only one able to barely keep his eyes open enough to drive, and he wouldn't let anyone else rive his truck but him. As for Archie, he was leaning against the window in a haze between reality and dreams.

Herry had the radio turned on for some comfort to keep him awake. The sun was dipping low in the sky and casting magnificent strands of light along the clouds. They appeared to be the only ones on the road, and the truck seemed to be just skimming along the magnificent scene. Man, Herry just loved going out for a drive. Just him and the road, stopping wherever and whenever he wanted. His eyelids were getting heavier… closing slowly….

BEEEEEEP!

He jolted upright and swerved back onto his side of the road as the semi drove past. Oh man… he was awake now. The others had been mildly disturbed by the loud noise, but it didn't really seem to bother them. Herry, one the other hand, was gripping the steering wheel so tightly his fingers had gotten stuck in the metal. He pulled his hands off and cursed mildly when he saw the large indents from where his hands had been. Being strong was definitely useful and it had its perks… but this was just outrageous! He'd wrecked his truck! Ah well, he'd have to get Hephaestus to fix it when they got back.

Hercules's many-times-descendant managed to get the truck back to their dorm without any further excitements. It was dark out now, and though it did take some time to wake everyone up (he'd had to carry Neil under one arm with the umbrella's under the other since the blonde wouldn't wake up) and get unpacked, they were quickly settled into bed and snoring not too long afterwards.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Tulais pulled himself up and crawled out of the low overhang. The sun was bright out now, almost mocking him for trying to travel in the horrendous weather earlier. He snarled in annoyance and continued plodding along in the same direction he had been heading in.

Life, growth and the sweet scent that followed rain was in the air, he could smell it in his sensitive nose.

"Bah!" he spat in his deep, husky voice. It wasn't too difficult to speak with this muzzle, it did take some getting used to and unfortunately his voice had changed from what it once was to this raspy, deep foreign sound that now vibrated from his chest. He wiped some dirt form his eye with a rub from his paw and flicked his tail as he walked.

Though becoming used to four legs had taken some time, he now pitied humans for being proud of their two skinny, chicken legs. Four long, powerful legs were far better. Truth be told, he was actually happier being a demon than a weak human at some points. His stomach growled momentarily, and he lifted his head to scent the air. He caught scent of a small herd of deer just up ahead. Crouching down, he managed to sneak up closer to them. But deer are very finicky things when they ever feel a change in the atmosphere especially, and they knew something dark, something angry, was nearby.

They needed not see Tulais to have any reason to bolt and they did so. Faster than they had ever run before. Tulais flew from his crouch like a whirlwind and was upon one in an instant. He sunk his long fangs into its throat and broke its neck with one snap. It fell dead instantly. Happily, he howled loud and clear to the sky and then turned down to his kill.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Warm, rested and now with a full meal in his gut, Tulais felt content. He dozed a while near where he had killed and eaten the deer. After he had woken up, he sniffed around and found a small stream and drank from it to quench his thirst and then continued on his way.

Something was bothering him though. What was it that he had smelt last night? It had almost been the smell of his closest friend, Achilles. But that was impossible… Achilles was off fighting in Troy, wasn't he? This place was nothing like Troy or Sparta.

Suddenly, Tulais stopped. A growl formed in his breast and spread throughout his entire being. Someone was coming, someone who was emitting a dark, dangerous presence. He didn't like this one bit, but the demon Tulais would never turn and run away. Never.

He was shocked when of all things; Cronus stepped out of the woods towards him.

"Ah, Tulais my dear friend. It is so very nice to see a familiar… face. Tell me, how are you?" the god of time said cheerfully.

Tulais knew better, "What do you want Cronus? I've had enough of you gods and your trickery!" he snarled angrily, feeling the heated rage inside him begin to spread.

"Oh, I thought that after all these years you might've calmed down a bit more. But I think I'd like to use that rage against my enemies…"

"I'll never work for any of you gods again!" Tulais's fur was standing on end now; his size seemed to nearly double. Half startled, Cronus took a slight step back but quickly regained himself.

"But I think you'll be interested. Do you even know how long you've been wandering, demon?" Cronus said in a frighteningly calm tone.

"A… a long time," Tulais admitted.

"Do you know that Troy has fallen… and that Achilles was killed? And…"

"What? No- you lie you foolish god! Achilles is- should be, immortal! No one knows his secret! No one but me!" It couldn't be, it just couldn't. Achilles couldn't be dead. Nothing was left for Tulais but the hope that bringing back a way to make Achilles immortal would grant him the grace of being allowed to be considered a hero- even in the form of a demon. But how could anyone have learned Achilles' secret- that his heel was his only mortal defect? It was impossible to believe. No, no, Cronus had to be lying, trying to find some way to stop Achilles or something.

"Am I lying, Tulais?" the god asked smoothly.

Tulais opened his mouth in a loud snarl. If he had been able to think clearly, he might wonder how Cronus had escaped from the Underworld, but he couldn't think at all.

Instead, Tulais made to spring at Cronus and tear the lies from his living flesh, but then he stopped. Something on the wind. A scent. He had caught a brief whiff yesterday. It came off the scythe that Cronus held, it came off Cronus himself. The god had been in a fight- with Achilles! The scent told that it was probably fairly recent too, only a few days old.

If Achilles was dead, then how could his scent be so new on Cronus? Tulais grinned and took one last smell of the immortal standing opposite of him. Something didn't seem quite right about Achilles' scent though... it seemed… muddled. Different.

But Tulais could not bother with small things like that now, he had to find Achilles. He had to know that Cronus was lying.

Tulais turned and ran away.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The brownstone was silent, save for the few murmurs in sleep. Dust settled on shelves and on photographs of happy, smiling teens. These photos's sat on shelves, on bedside tables or on walls. In the kitchen, a drop fell form the tap. Some unwashed dishes lay discarded along the counter. At the front door, there was a jumble of shoes thrown into a messy pile and some clothes randomly discarded here and there.

In one room, a faint blue light illuminated the face of a sleeping teen, his messy dark brown hair falling over his dark skin. He had fallen asleep at the computer after checking up on his satellite connections to make sure nothing 'funny' had happened while they were out.

In another room, the moonlight was bounced every which way by the mirrors that hung everywhere and on every wall. The snoring boy slept in a calm posture, a mirror on both sides of his bed so that whichever side he woke up on he'd see himself first thing every morning. Pictures, magazines, combs and autographed pictures muddled up the overall look of the room. Everything ha done thing in common though, they were all of the blonde-haired teen snoring away.

The next room was messy, with a dirty plate here and there, and clothes in every corner of the room, save for the dresser they were meant for. A half eaten slice of pizza stuck out from under the sagging bed and the strongly-built boy slept. He clutched his cherished teddy to his chest and shifted slightly to get more comfortable.

A dull light came out form under the door in the next room. Here, the infamous leader had fallen asleep at his desk, trying to finish his homework which he'd 'forgotten' over the weekend, without the others knowing. What he'd find out in the morning is that it's not a good idea to fall asleep on pencil and paper and the handle of your sword, since it would leave some impressions in his cheek the next day. His room was altogether nice and tidy, well kept, like a room should be. His casual yellow and purple-striped shirt was lying forgotten on the bed where he'd left it when pretending to got o sleep.

The next room was furnished like one you would find in a rich mansion. The bed was larger than all the other beds in the dorm, and it even had a little cute canopy. It was fairly clean, save for the slippers on the side of the bed, as one had flipped on it's side as she had hurriedly leapt into bed, and the clutter of photos with the girl with long flowing hair and the blonde, or her and their leader. Under her pillow she kept a picture of the entire group and she was smiling in her sleep, one hand just reaching under and lightly fingering the photograph.

Right next door in the other girl's room, it was furnished with kayaks, a small chair and cleats, shin pads, running gear and all other little assortments that any active person would die to have. Her favorite bow and arrows hung on the wall by her bed, and some special pictures of her and the group, and her and a certain mullet-haired friend on one of their many escapades through the town together. She was murmuring quietly in her sleep, and kicked off the blankets in annoyance, then rolled over and quieted down again.

But in the final room, all was not peaceful. The boy tossed and turned, whimpering and even yelping at points in some form of pain. His purple hair was curling and sticking to his forehead in the cold sweat that came from nightmares. He whimpered again and clutched the sheets on his bed tightly as another wave of panic surged through him.

Archie didn't know why, but somehow, in some strange way, he was reliving, or imagining, some great battle that had been fought long ago. He wasn't sure how, but he knew it was the battle of Troy…

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Dun Dun Dun! So now Tulais is off in search of Achilles? And we understand that he really, really hates the gods/titans.

Haha, it was fun writing about their rooms, and I got sleepy while writing the first part with them driving home. It was just so calm… until Herry nearly killed them (hahaha, silly boy)

Well, I hope this keeps you interested for now, and the next chapter should be coming out any day now since I'm half finished and I've got a boatload of inspiration to help ;)

Review please, it helps me work faster.

Demenior


	5. Punishment

**Demons Within Me**

**Disclaimer: see chapter 1**

**Warnings: Death, some mildly disturbing scenes as in people turning into demons, could be some cursing/foul language**

**Pairings: same as always**

**Chapter 5: Punishment**

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Archie was standing, bare footed, in warm sand under a cold, red moon. Men rushed about him in full armor, wielding weapons like swords, spears and daggers. They all charged into and through the now open gates of Troy. Screams of fear and confusion and pain ripped through the night. Archie paled as he felt, literally, drawn further into the dream and was suddenly standing in the middle of the city. He looked around in a panic as men ran past, women clutching children to their breast tried to escape the mayhem, but none could see him, feel him, and they all ran through him like he didn't exist. Which he didn't, in that time at least.

But it was one warrior in particular that caught his attention. A long, pale face with a straight, pointed nose and firm set lips. Red hair stuck out from under his helmet and he wore an amazing set of armor- obviously created by the gods. He seemed to be only in his early twenties, but his firm set grey-blue eyes were as cold and understanding in the battle as any aged warrior. He wielded a large spear, black as night was the blade, with a small red 'A' painted neatly at the tip. Archie's mouth felt dry as he recognized his ancestor.

"Achilles!" a voice suddenly cried from behind the fire to Achilles' left.

Achilles turned, but neither he nor Archie could make out the form of the person on the other side of the wall of flame blocking their view. But, to Archie's surprise, Achilles lowered his guard and smiled.

"Tulais? Is that you my friend? Have you returned, finally, after all these years? I was worried about you-"

"Shut up, fool. I have no idea whom this Tulais is, but I am not him."

Leaping through the flames came a slim chestnut-haired boy, older than Achilles. He held a large bow in one hand and a quiver of arrows on his back.

"Paris!" Achilles spat and he pulled back into a defensive position, ashamed at calling his enemy his friend.

Paris? But- Paris killed Achilles, with Apollo's help, was he going to… no! Archie pulled back, he did not want to see his ancestor die! He turned, to try and pull away, but his feet were literally nailed to the spot. It was like watching a train wreck, no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't pull away.

"No mortal can kill me, Paris, just surrender and I'll make your death quick and painless," Achilles commanded.

"Not after what you have done to my brother, brat! You dishonored him and held him outside of Hades for days before my father –begged- to return his body! You have humiliated us, and so it will be me who kills tonight!"

"How can you kill he who is immortal?" Achilles smirked confidently.

"By striking you in your ankle."

Fear seized Archie by the throat and he realized he was half looking through Achilles' eyes now as much as his own. He could feel the weight of the spear and shield on his arms and the armor on his shoulders. Somewhere in the back of both their minds, their heels were throbbing slightly.

Paris raised his bow with a sneer, and above him, in the form so that mortals could see him, appeared Apollo. He burned like the flame, but he too was wielding bow and arrow. Achilles froze up on the spot as he watched the god and mortal facing him, aiming.

The arrow flew true to its target and struck Achilles in the heel. Archie felt it as much as his ancestor did, and with a scream they both collapsed to the ground. He could feel the burning, poisoned arrowhead begin to infect his body. A white hot pain blinded him momentarily. There was another 'twang' of the bow and he felt another arrow join the first in his heel. Another wave of hot white pain shot through his body.

This was too much! Too much pain! Since his heel was his main weak point, having something to do with the fact that he only had pain nerves in that part of his body or something, Archie had forgotten about pain save for when he bumped his bare heel against the coffee table and little things like that.

But this huge amount of pain was just unbearable! His vision was fading, but to his shock and awe, he could see Achilles struggling back to his feet. Blood poured form his heel in a steady stream. The two arrows were in too deep to be pulled out again, and this was where he was going to die. At the hands of Apollo.

But what Archie realized, was that while Paris had fired the two arrows already, Apollo still had his aimed and ready to fire.

"Now for the prophecy to come true!" Apollo cried in a large, commanding voice that seemed to be everywhere.

The flaming arrow in his bow released and drove right through Achilles. Archie felt it tear himself apart as his ancestor died right there, he screamed louder than ever before. He wasn't sure if he was still screaming, but the burning city slowly gave way to darkness…

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Tulais you fell in love with a woman the moment you set eyes on her, but she would not love you back, so you continued hounding after her to love you."

Archie opened his eyes, but to his shock they were open. Everything was just black. But even though he couldn't see anyone, only hear them, the voice was so familiar it was frightening. It was Hera.

"Y-yes, but, you must understand that…"

"But since she wouldn't engage in any affairs with you, you came and tricked Artemis into revealing some of her powers for changing your shape. You –stole- her magic and used it for yourself, to try and impress Atalanta. And still she denied you, so you returned and fooled Artemis again and once more stole magic from her in order to charm her, but once more she refused you. So you chased her in nightmares and through the day, even begging her to court you. You chased her so much that she finally had to hide in the temple of Artemis and beg for safety from you. And Artemis, who was searching for you nearby, heard Atalanta and came to her rescue, so now here we are. You are in the judgment of the gods now, fool."

"Great goddess of the hearth, Hera, please understand me. I feel deeply in love with Atalanta the moment I set my mortal eyes upon her and I could not resist her. I know that deep down she loves me too, just give me another chance, please. I will return that which I have stolen to the wonderful Artemis, but please heed my plea this once!" a male voice begged.

Archie was surprised, it did not sound like the type of voice who would beg. The voice was strong a deep, very masculine and handsome and strong. He didn't doubt that this man must have had many women lay with him, but it seemed that the one woman he had really wanted was the one he wasn't able to love.

"Never, I will not take back the forms you have taken form me, not after they were used by a mortal who dishonors one who resembles me so closely! I do not trust him Hera, we should punish him now!" Archie recognized Artemis's strong, almost male voice.

"I agree with Artemis. This mortal cannot be allowed to go free after thieving forms the gods like he has, not once but twice! He must be punished!" Athena cried.

Suddenly, a light fell in a ring around the council. The faces of the gods were still hidden, but Archie was barely able to distinguish them one form another. In the centre of the ring stood a young man, around the age of Achilles, or at least the age he had been in when he had died.

The man had a short, trimmed beard and dark hair that Archie was shocked to see was tinged purple- almost the same color as his hair. His nose was large and slightly hooked and his lips were thin while his body was lean with muscle. Archie was strangely reminded of himself by looking at this man. He was nowhere near as beautiful/handsome as Achilles (as Archie had been teased about countless times) but definitely not all too appalling as some men were.

Then it struck Archie, Tulais was the name Achilles had mistakenly called Paris. He had called Tulais a dear friend, but surely the great warrior wouldn't be friends with a thief who stole even form the gods? And if they were such close friends, why hadn't he ever heard of this Tulais person?

"I beg of the immortals, far superior than I, a lowly, foolish mortal, to take pity on me; I was foolish and acted the same…"

"Silence, Tulais," Hera commanded again, "we have come to a decision, and you will keep your forms you stole form Artemis. But you will never be able to become human again. May you take the form of the wolf, the first and your favorite of the stolen bodies from Artemis, and may it be that your hair is the color of your fur so that all who see you will know that you are a cursed animal. And keep the horns of the goat, the second form you stole. So that you can be forever reminded of your mistake. Be gone now, and be cursed forever more for this is my final curse to you Tulais, I will erase you form the minds of every mortal and off every tongue and story. Only Achilles and the immortals will remember you, but even your friend will stop speaking of you because he will feel foolish to be speaking of someone who does not exist. And now, be gone, because I make you immortal so that you may suffer your mistakes, and so that you may remember yourself and be pained form the beast you are to become!"

Archie gasped in shock as suddenly the man, Tulais, fell to the ground and began clawing at his flesh as he began howling and screaming in pain. His skin began to peel away in its place was long, shaggy fur the same color as his, almost the same as Archie's, hair. Tulais's size doubled as he screamed and tore off his human coating, and his screams slowly turned to snarls and howls of rage and pain. His face bulged out and his teeth became long fangs.

And then, in one final act of cruelty, Hera seized Tulais by the ruff on his neck and cast him out of the ring of light, and somehow Archie could just tell she had now cast him from the skies and hurtling to the earth below as he screamed and cried in rage, pain and fear.

Archie felt sick, he couldn't believe what he had just seen. But why would he be dreaming of something he had never heard of? Why was he thinking about Achilles' death? Why, why, why?

And then Hera turned, -all- the gods turned and looked straight at him, Their eyes focused on him, they could see him! They knew he was there and what he had seen. The gods advanced on him, to hurl him out of the skies like they had Tulais, but Archie turned and ran, but he ran too far into the darkness and fell off the edge of the gods' realm. He was falling now…

Falling…

Falling…

Falling…

"Ah!" Archie bolted upright as he fell out of bed. Man, what a strange dream… He shuddered as he recalled all that had happened. He'd go talk to Chiron later. But not Hera… the way she had coldly hurt Tulais, whether he was real or not, scared him more than he'd like to admit, because he could believe she had/could do such a thing.

He looked over his shoulder at his alarm clock and sighed, it was time to get up for training, fun. He forced himself up, got dressed, and headed down for another few hours of 'excitement' with his 'favorite' mentor, Ares.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Yay! Don't you love me? Two chapters in a 24 hour time-period! I had a major inspirational burst halfway through the fourth chapter, and this one just flowed out so fast I had spelling errors left and write- err, right!

Well, we half found out that Tulais fell in love with Atalanta (Atlanta's ancestor) while (as we already know0 on a quest to try and find a way to make Achilles, his best friend, immortal. And so after hounding after Atalanta for so long, he was punished quite severely, I must say.

I know that Tulais didn't actually exist in Greek mythology, but that is why this is called a fan fiction, and so I've tried to fit it in best could without changing the original myths too much.

Oh, and one final thing, Achilles died some time after Tulais became a demon. I know it seems like they happened around the same time, but Achilles did die later.

Review and rate please and thank you!

Demenior


	6. Unneeded Knowlage

**Demons Within Me**

**Disclaimer; see chapter 1**

**Warnings: Very, very mild references to sex, references to Hades being gay**

**Pairings: Probably still more hints at Neil/Theresa/Jay, and Archie/Atlanta**

**Authors Note: Wow, six chapters an over 32 reviews. You guys, thank you so much because I wouldn't have been able to do this without your support. It always makes my day when I see a new review waiting for me, and it really helps me believe my writing isn't as half as bad as it actually is ;) So thank you again, and I hope I don't disappoint you in any chapter coming soon.**

**Chapter 6: Unneeded Knowledge**

**… - thoughts**

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The dream, that dream. It was still bothering him; it was so –real-.

"Alright, we'll start off with five laps around the gym and then stretch and move onto agility exercises, so get moving Archie."

"Yes sir," Archie replied in a monotone voice, his thoughts were elsewhere on his strange dream/memory?

"Yes sir? What, no whining or complaining or trying to weasel your way out?" Ares was confused; surely the boy must be trying to plan some way to get out of training.

"No sir." Archie replied again.

Ares looked him over and noted that his student did seem tired and a little unkempt. Must've been up late doing… something. He chuckled as he remembered what a womanizer Achilles had been. Maybe Archie had finally gotten the guts to 'talk' to that red-head he liked so much?

"Well, run until you're feeling more awake and ready for the agility course, I really don't want to send you to Chiron right now," he mumbled the last bit to himself and proceeded to seat himself down on a bench to watch Archie run. He frowned slightly at the boys form though.

It wasn't that Archie was walking, or running all zigzagged, or dragging his feet, but the fact that he was running without any life in him. There was a difference when a runner was running, with his mind in his work, and when his mind was elsewhere. Archie's thoughts were definitely away from the track, far, far away.

Ares watched for some time, but then began feeling tired himself as he watched the mortal run. He needed something to wake him up, and a nice cup of ambrosia would hit the spot. Archie could handle himself until then. Ares got up and left to make himself a 'wake-up drink'.

His dreams… they had been so vivid, so real. Archie could still vaguely feel the pain of the two arrows in his heel and the hole burning in his chest from Apollo's flaming arrow. No, he didn't understand what the meaning of those dreams was, he wasn't a psychic like Theresa, but he understood they weren't just random thoughts he had created in his sleep.

They mean something, but what about his ancestor's death and some guy who was apparently close to his ancestor but was turned into a demon was important? And if it was so important, why hadn't he ever heard about this Tulais person before?

What had Hera said, of course! They had 'erased Tulais form the minds, tongue and pages of every mortal' so if they had done that, only one of the immortals who had been in that council would know. And that had been basically all of them, save for the big three, Zeus (who knew where he was now? The only place he could be in at the school would be as the janitor- but get real. The king of the immortals, now working as a janitor? Yeah right.) Poseidon, whom they had met and Archie didn't particularly like after he had dragged him all the way down to his underwater palace, and Hades, who Archie just did not like period. He never wanted to be stuck in a room alone with that god, just his personality and the way he spoke… Archie wondered how much longer his marriage to Persephone would last before Hades got bored and went to look for some other guy…. And then one or two other of the gods who had not been present. But Ares had been there, he could just ask his mentor.

But then again, no. Ares probably wouldn't remember, or lecture him on and on about the story. Chiron was still probably his best choice for getting a straight answer without much lecture.

Alright, so his mind was made up and he'd just go and politely ask Chiron if someone named Tulais had existed, and if he did then to give him a brief history on the guy. If not, Archie would just pretend he was a little out of it (which he was he admitted to himself) and just tell Chiron not to worry about it. Then he'd go to Persephone and talk about the dreams, not that he really cared about all the psychic and philosophy in them, but for the therapy because his stomach churned every time he thought about it and he didn't think he'd be able to talk to Hera without thinking of the way she had been so harsh on Tulais for a long time.

"Archie."

Man, he hoped Persephone and Chiron wouldn't get on him too badly if Tulais did exist. If he had been so bad for them to remove him from history, then maybe it would be a better idea to figure all this out himself and not tell the gods.

"Archie."

He could swear he could already hear them, constantly chasing after and checking in on him to make sure he was still sane and not having another vision…

"Wake Up, Boy!" Ares cried for the third time.

Archie jolted to a stop, and for the firs time, realized how dead tired his limbs were and how badly he was panting, his eyelids drooping with fatigue.

"Olympia above, boy! Have you been running this whole time? I –knew- something was going on inside your head. Go back to bed right now and don't leave until you're feeling fit again. Or better yet, go visit Chiron and get him to give you a quick look-over."

"Y-yes sir," Archie replied wearily. His feet felt like lead weights, like whenever he would try to get into the water before Atlanta had helped him in, but he managed to take a step. And then suddenly the floor came rushing at him.

Ares caught him swiftly, and held him up for a moment as he regained his bearings.

"Do you need me to carry you?" Ares asked, without the familiar 'I-don't-like-you-because-I'm-better-than-you' roughness in his voice. It just made Archie feel like he was sicker and hearing things, instead of just dreaming them now.

"But instead he replied, "No, no, I think I'll be alright. J-just take it easy."

He pushed away form Ares and managed to get to Chiron's room without any further delays. The centaur immediately had him lie down and drink some water mixed with some sort of herb that did something to relax his body, or something like that. And while the wise teacher was musing over some other medicines to give him, Archie decided that this time was as good as any to ask his question.

"Chiron… did a Tulais ever exist around the time as Achilles?"

Chiron dropped what he was carrying, which was a shock since Chiron was so well coordinated, and whirled around to face Archie.

"What did you say?" He asked fearfully.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Hera looked up form her desk and out into the gathering storm in the sky. That was strange, she hadn't thought of HIM for some time now.

It had been a long time since Tulais, and she had decided to not to think of him because she was ashamed of what she had done to him. She, and all the others, had reacted far too harshly upon the poor man, but they, the gods, had too much pride to go and apologize. She really had no idea where he could be right now though, hopefully he had left this world and just gone to Hades, whether he could go to Elysian Fields or not.

And yet, she couldn't help but fear that there was a good reason she was thinking of the demon now. This was just the calm before the storm she could feel it. Hera stared hard into the oncoming dark grey clouds, as if provoking them.

What do you hide in your dark depths, what do you hold in store for us and our heroes? She thought silently…

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"What did you say?" Chiron demanded again, his usually strong, serious face pale and it seemed as if the immortal had just aged a thousand years in front of his eyes. Archie shuddered and couldn't help but feel he might've said something wrong as he literally felt the fear radiating from the centaur.

He swallowed to wet his throat and repeated, "D-did someone, who was later turned into a… a, something, named Tulais know my ancestor…"

Chiron sprang over and seized Archie by the shoulders, "Who told you? Who told you about that demon?"

"N-no one! I had a dream and…"

"A dream? Olympia above, this is far more serious than ever! What was in your dream, no, we have to see Hera, now!" Chiron, in that short period of time, had begun shaking and sweating, almost as much as Archie. Being grabbed by one of the calmest of the immortals he knew and then getting this reaction from such a simple question, man, this was really, really serious. It meant he was in big trouble too, he bet.

Wait, Hera? Now? After seeing what she had done to Tulais in his dream- memory? Oh no, he couldn't see her now. What if she did something like that to him? After all, Archie felt a little uncomfortable admitting to himself, he did look somewhat like Tulais, when he had been human, but more like Achilles, obviously, he assured himself.

"No, Chiron, it's okay. It was a vague dream, really, I don't need to see Hera, honest…"

Chiron paled, the boy was refusing to see Hera? Tulais must have spoken lies to him, possibly turned his thoughts to the gods! He roughly grabbed Archie by the arm and without another word, dragged him down the halls to Hera's office.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Hera whirled around as the door burst open. A pale and frightened Chiron, dragging an exhausted Archie, came bounding in.

"Chiron? What is going on, and at this hour? What are you doing with one of our heroes?" Hera demanded.

"It's T- Tulais. Archie knows Hera, he knows about the demon!"

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**Wow, this fast, a new chapter…**

**I have a whole bundle of ideas I want to get into this story, but I need to think this out clearly since right now is crucial in setting up the main plot and other things that, I hope, will make this story worthwhile.**

**Hopefully I've kept everyone in character so far, and I hope I'm not annoying everyone with my rambling. I know this story isn't as good as many others out there, but I hope its good enough to bear with!**

**Haha, and I hope someone noticed how, instead of having coffee, Ares went to get AMBROSIA instead? Since the gods are only supposed to drink Ambrosia or something like that, I'm too tired to really think straight.**

**Well, please review and tell me what you think, any questions or predictions that you have, they could very easily change the course of this story, or possibly make it better! I'd like some input form you guys, since you're my motivation for this story!**

**Demenior**


	7. Council

**Demons Within Me**

**Disclaimer: see chapter 1**

**Warnings: Possible cursing… mild blood, I don't think this chapter is too bad in terms of gore/sexual scenes/language**

**Pairings: Same as always, hints at Archie/Atlanta, Neil/Theresa and Jay/Theresa**

**Authors Note: Wow, I'm on a roll here! Pay attention to what goes on in chapter 5, 6, this chapter and up until we meet Tulais. There's some pretty big foreshadowing going on here, and kudos to anyone who might see it! I really like the name of this chapter, and I wanted to use it for the last chapter, but it works much better for this one. Basically, it's saying 'Face the Past'- more or less it relates to the gods and their mistake of punishing Tulais so harshly.**

**Chapter 7: Council**

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"It's T- Tulais! Archie know Hera, he knows about the demon!" Chiron cried in a panic.

Hera's old eyes widened profusely as she heard the news. She stepped back in alarm.

How could he know? Tulais had been erased from the history of mankind! Only the immortals knew about him- who told him? Someone was leaking information!

"Ares!" Hera called.

Only moments later did the god of war run in. He looked from his mother to Chiron and Archie standing in a pale, shaky group.

"What- what's going on?" he asked awkwardly, something didn't seem right. Hera never seemed this panicked and even Chiron looked afraid. Archie… just looked tired and sick, though he couldn't be sick, just tired, since he was immune to any type of illness.

"What did you tell him? After we all swore to secrecy? How could you break that code, Ares? I know you're a fool at points, but how dare you?" Hera said in a livid tone.

Ares took a step back, "What are you talking about? I'd never break any vow! Never!"

"Then how does he know? How does the boy know?" Hera yelled.

Archie was startled. Hera was shaking she was so angry. He'd never seen anyone like this before. What if she got so angry at him she did to him the same thing she had done to Tulais? Why did Tulais make her so angry? Why did his name even seem to inspire fear, or anger, among the gods?

"How does the boy know what?" Ares cried back. No one would raise their voice at him, not even his own mother.

"Tulais! You told him about Tulais!"

Ares only stared at Hera. And it was very apparent that he hadn't leaked any information.

Archie couldn't stand the silence, as short as it was, much longer, let alone another yelling contest between two gods again, so he cleared his throat weakly, "It- no one told me, H-Hera. I had a dream and…"

"A dream? What happened in you dream, boy?" Hera demanded, her gaze falling on him.

Archie, he hated how easily he gave into emotion right then, froze up on the spot. But Chiron, even as urgent as this time was, remembered his training as a healer.

"Hera, the boy was just in to see me for a serious case of fatigue. No doubt it was due to these dreams he says he's had, but let him sit down please. It won't do us any good if he faints before his story is complete."

Hera nodded, "Yes, I believe you are right. Ares, go fetch a small cup of ambrosia to help Archie clear his mind and get the rest of the gods in here immediately. Especially Persephone, I want her to help me understand the meaning of Archie's dreams," Hera commanded dejectedly. She then turned and clapped her hands, and a door opened in the air.

Archie's eyes widened as Chiron led him over and into the door, which had just appeared out of no where and wasn't connected to any wall or room as far as he could see. Hera opened the door and entered first, followed by Chiron who was once again dragging Archie.

Inside, the room was pitch black and not even the light from Hera's room gave any sense of light inside. Archie couldn't see anything at all.

Then, in the centre of the room (Archie assumed) a ring of light glowed from out of nothing. Archie felt his stomach drop as he realized that this was the exact same room he'd seen when Hera and the other gods had punished Tulais. Chiron had him sit in a hazy, mostly transparent chair that materialized out of nothingness as the light had, in the middle of the ring of light, just like Tulais had. He was shaking again, he realized, and just wanted to close his eyes and go to sleep. That's all this could be, just a dream he created when he didn't get enough sleep after having some crazy nightmare. That's all it was, so just treat it like that. Stay calm, answer questions and wait for your mind to conjure up some other crazy idea like a **naked** Neil dancing through the streets-

Archie sighed, sickened by his random train of thought.

Just think of something real. Like Atlanta. Think of Atlanta and just wake up. Atlanta has beautiful red hair…

_(Soft and silky to the touch)_

She had beautiful eyes…

_(Gazing into his own with a look of pure love)_

A well formed body…

_(Pressed against his own)_

Lovely pink lips…

_(Taste so sweet)_

"Archie! Don't you dare zone out now, boy!" Ares snapped. Archie jumped out of his… fantasy.

Ares roughly thrust a mug into Archie's hands and stormed off into the darkness, where he most likely took a seat in one of the 'inviso-chairs'. Without a word, the rest of the Olympians filed in, including Poseidon, who appeared to be floating for his lack of legs, and Hades, who was oddly silent and serious despite the last time Archie had seen him being all ditzy and 'blonde'.

But as Artemis entered the dark room, she leapt back in fright.

"Tulais?" she nearly screamed.

Aphrodite's, even for her usual ignorance of those around her, leaned over and grabbed Atemis's shoulder and said something that sounded slightly like 'No, it's Archie.' To the huntress.

Archie looked down guiltily to the mug Ares had given him. Inside, there was just barely a thin covering of golden liquid at the bottom of the mug.

Ambrosia, the drink of the gods. Too much could kill a person, but a little like this could probably wake me up and help clear my head, probably what they want to happen so that I'll tell them what they want to know… but what is it that they're wanting to hear? What will they do to me if I say something wrong? What if Hera turns –me- into a demon?

He shook his head and quickly drank the small amount of Ambrosia, welcoming the relieving warmth and the brief removal of his wandering, fearful thoughts.

"Alright Archie."

Hera's voice sounded do loud and commanding compared to the low din of voices he had gotten more accustomed to, he was startled again and looked up, but was unable to identify any of the familiar faces of the gods.

"Now we have heard that you have recently dreamed of the demon Tulais," there were shocked gasps from all around him, "now tell us what you saw, in as much detail as you can. This is important Archie, for no mortal should know of the demon because we erased him."

Archie took a deep breath, he wasn't quite sure where to begin, but it might as well start with the battle of Troy, where his dreams had started.

"It began when I found myself outside troy. How I knew it was Troy, I don't know…"

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Atlanta yawned and stretched. That had to have been on of the most refreshing sleeps she'd had in a long, long time.

Swinging her legs out of bed, she accidentally knocked some pictures off her bedside stand. Sighing, she rubbed her sore hand, since her body wasn't ready for pain this early in the morning, and bent down to pick up the pictures. They were all of her and Archie, what a coincidence. Strips of four small photos they had got form a photo booth in the mall, with the two of them making weird faces, laughing, acting normal and smiling, and pretending to act 'cool' and looking all serious.

Another was where she and Archie had stood beside a large mural of the sky and some clouds and had gotten someone else to take the picture for them. She had an arm wrapped around his shoulders, and he had an arm wrapped around her waist. They were both smiling and giggling at something else that one of them had said.

The last picture was of Archie and her at the fair when it had come into town. He had played a game and tried to hard to get her a prize, in the end he'd managed to win her a small plush dog, while she had beaten him at the same game and won him some free passes to the circus that was coming into town fairly soon. He'd taken her out for a meal in return for the tickets (unfortunately he didn't have that much money and they'd just gone for a burger and fries and then snuck into a drive-in movie) but it wasn't a date, they had both agreed when the others had inquired about why they were spending so much time together. Archie was just her really, really, really good friend, better than a best friend, and he'd told her that she was an even better friend to him than he was to her.

Wait… was Archie… blushing in the photo? He was! It was hard to see, but there is was. Why was he blushing? She didn't really recall him acting all odd at the times they had gotten these pictures taken.

Atlanta sighed, Archie seemed to be so simple to understand, but then he did something that just confused you entirely.

She got up and slowly dressed up in her usual attire, and then headed downstairs, feeling much more awake now.

Strange… where was Athena? Usually the goddess would be starting to cook breakfast by now, or at least one of the others would be up.

She went to get some milk from the fridge, but a note taped onto the door caught her attention. She pulled it off and read it quickly.

_Children,_

_ Whomever gets this note must wake the other sup and go to the school immediately. Chiron and Hercules will meet you there and take care of you upon your arrival. I can't give you any more information here, but this is very important. Archie is already over, so hurry please._

_Palls Athena_

Atlanta set down the note, if the gods were requesting them this early, it was serious. She turned and ran to the stairs.

"Guys! Wake Up! There's Trouble!"

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**Alright! Some more Archie/Atlanta thoughts/memories, Archie's interview by the gods begins, and the others have to hurry and catch up or else they might be left in the dust with what's going to be happening soon. **

**I promise this story won't be so boring in another chapter or two! But I'm just trying to lead up to where the good part can start, so this means setting up the relationships, problems/dilemmas, and little things here and there that will work out later in the story. **

**Please review and tell me your thoughts!**

**Demenior**


	8. Worry

**Demons Within Me**

**Disclaimer: see chapter 1**

**Warnings: …Nothing, just surprises for our heroes**

**Pairings: Same as always**

**Authors Note: Wow… 41 reviews… I just want to spend every waking moment working on this story, and I'm determined to make it good. Unfortunately, I'll be having a lot of soccer tournaments and tests in school to start studying for, so my update rate might drop noticeably. I'll try to keep it on a regular basis, since this story is just flowing (wow… I sound so… 'hippie-ish' kinda like Pan ;D) but yeah, this story is flowing. I can't wait to start working on it every day, and I'll be spending my free time in school working out an awesome plot that (hopefully) will have you guys interested up to yer eyeballs! And trust me, there are some major plot twists coming up and Archie will be meeting Tulais soon. VERY soon. **

**Chapter 8: Worry **

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Herry snorted quietly in his sleep, clutching his teddy bear. Suddenly, there was a loud 'wumph' as something big landed on his bed with a:

"Herry! Herry! Get up- we need to get to the school, now!"

Herry bolted upright and accidentally knocked Atlanta off his bed. She always did seem to do the strangest things, like when waking someone up you usually just prodded them, not jumped don and scared the pants off of them. Kinda like Archie.

"What's wrong Atlanta?" he asked.

"Athena left a note saying that something serious was happening and we have to get to the school right away!" she said quickly.

"Okay," he groaned tiredly, "okay, I'm up. Go wake up the others and I'll get the truck started." Waving her off, she jumped up from the floor and looked around.

"Man Herry, you really need to clean this place up and… a teddy? Wow, I never would've thought you'd be the one with the teddy!" she giggled slightly and then turned and raced out the door, where he heard her leap into Neil's room and awaken the model with a loud cry.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Once everyone was dressed and awake enough to move on their own, Atlanta and Herry herded them into the truck. They had no idea why Athena was making such a big deal of them having to get over there, but something did seem odd. A heavy layer of dark storm clouds had settled over New Olympia, just taunting the citizens to try and determine when it would release its load.

Which it did, slowly, in just little droplets here and there. Herry groaned and tried to drive, despite the large indents in the steering wheel of his truck. He muttered something about asking Hephaestus to make the steering wheel out of some sort of metal that wouldn't break under his mighty strength, too easily.

He pulled up to the school a short while later and everyone, more awake now, hopped out and dashed for the dryness of the school. They wandered down some of the halls, once passing by Mr. Suez who never talked or did anything but watch the kids go past (What a creep!) and mop the floors.

Still as cautious as ever, even if it was before school hours, they checked around to make sure no one was watching them. Jay took out his golden medallion, a 'J' engraved on the back, and slid it into the knob of the door to the Janitor's closet where the dial turned and then clicked into place. He removed his medallion and opened the door, placing the necklace back around his neck and then tucking it into his shirt. The others passed him and entered the small room.

"What happened to your face?" Theresa giggled as she passed him.

Confused, Jay traced his hand over his cheek and realized that there were impressions of his sword handle and pencil in his cheek! Face turning a bright hue of red, he quickly stepped inside the closet and closed the door behind him. Odie reached up and turned on the light, and Neil, with a loud yawn stretched out and laid an arm around Theresa's shoulders. She coughed slightly and he pulled away, slowly.

The back wall slowly glowed with a bright blue color and once it had filled the entire wall, they passed through the portal one by one. It was s strange sensation, almost like waking through a wall of water. It had been noticed by the group that Archie just sped though the portal quickly, not pausing and going slowly like the others, and it had started when Neil had suggested the idea of the portal being like water. Yeesh, they could do without Archie's irrational fear sometimes.

Chiron and Hercules were waiting just inside.

"Follow me," the centaur said, and even though they were tired, they could tell he had been spooked by something. Both he and Hercules looked pale and were shaking slightly, and if the group had been more awake, hungry or wondering what the gods wanted, they might've figured out that something really, really bad was going on.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"And so I saw you throw Tulais from this… room, and then everyone, all the gods, turned and looked at ME. But I don't know how you could have because I didn't exist at that time, it was probably part of my nightmare, but I turned and ran, and I fell off the 'edge' as well. I was falling, and then I woke up."

"Strange," Hera muttered. Her brow furrowed as she thought back to that day, remembering how for a brief moment she had felt someone, other than a god, watching her. Watching the punishment. But how could that be possible? Archie wasn't psychic like Theresa! He couldn't see visions…

"The Prophecy…" Hera whispered fearfully.

Archie looked up at her, what did 'Seven teenage descendants of famous heroes will save the world' have to do with a man who was changed into a demon thousands of years ago? Wait how had it gone again? Archie thought quietly to himself and didn't notice the rest of the gods fidget nervously as they recalled what the Oracle had prophesized for their downfall.

Right! This was how the prophecy had gone:

'_So many years later,_

_Offspring of seven heroes well known,_

_Must fight together,_

_To protect the heir to the throne.'_

The 'heir to the throne' was Zeus, of course, And the seven 'offspring' heroes was Archie and the gang. It was so simple, it was kind of stupid, and why would this be making Hera so upset?

"You may leave, now, Archie," Hera commanded, still hidden in the shadows of nothingness. He heard her clap her hands and a door opened beside him, quickly he stood up and then nearly fell back into the chair with a wave of dizziness, but eagerly stepped out of the dark room and into the light…

Gym?

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

The six of them were full, awake and very intent on finding out what was happening now. Chiron and Hercules had them seated in a circle in Chiron's study. The centaur was shifting nervously from hoof to hoof, and the demi-god was oddly interested with the holes in his socks.

"So why are we here in the first place?" Jay questioned, to get the conversation moving.

"It is because of Archie," Chiron replied, Hercules seemingly just 'had' to 'go' and he quickly left the elder to explain everything himself.

"What did Archie do that has us all here?" Theresa asked.

"Is he okay?" Atlanta blurted out. She didn't want her best friend hurt, not unless she knew when, who and how. Not unless she could go hunt them down and hurt them afterwards.

"He should be fine, as long as he is agreeable with Hera and the rest of the immortal council…"

"Immortal Council? Like- they're judging him?" Odie gasped.

Chiron nodded, "Somehow Archie connected with an event that happened thousands of years ago, that the gods erased form mortal history and therefore he should know nothing of it. It is a serous thing if the demon, T-Tulais, has somehow connected to Archie."

"Why? Who is this demon? What happened that made the gods erase a part of history?" Jay demanded, not liking where this was going. Like any good leader, and friend, he was worried about his comrade.

"Because, in a brief explanation, Tulais tricked and stole from the gods after he swore to them that he would not stop journeying until he had made his best friend immortal. But along his travels he met the beautiful and wild Atalanta, and fell deeply in love with her. So he tricked Artemis, twice, into giving him two forms of beasts from her and tried to use them to woo Atalanta into loving him…"

"Ouch, babes have never really gone for that sort of thing though. What a loser," Neil commented lazily. Chiron ignored the interruption and cleared his throat before continuing.

"But Atalanta had finally had enough, and one day while he was chasing after her, she fled into a temple of Hera and begged for help form the gods. The gods, angered already by Tulais's thievery, took him to the council of gods where he became a demon, and then they erased him form the history of mankind."

"They killed him?" Herry finally spoke up.

"No, they erased him from the minds of every mortal, and he later became feared as an unnamed demon, but one of the fiercest to ever exist- still exist, I believe." Chiron finished, "so if he has somehow connected with Archie and shown Archie the council where he became a demon, it could mean he would be coming to New Olympia very soon and you young heroes will have to fight him. And, knowing now the history he has had with some of your ancestors, I do not believe you want to meet him."

"Wait, Chiron, you mentioned this Tulais had a best friend, we already know he's connected to Atlanta's ancestor, Atalanta, but who was his best friend?" Theresa said, looking at Atlanta.

Chiron sighed, "His best friend was none other than the mighty Achilles."

Atlanta jumped up, "B-but that would mean he- he would know Archie's weakness! What if he goes after Archie?"

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**Dun dun dun, another update!**

**Okay, so Archie is out of the Immortal Council, the others have been filled in that Tulais and Achilles were best friends and other things about Tulais. And you got to see my revised version of the prophecy. I mean, come on, prophecy's only sound cool when they rhyme. If I had a prophecy as: 'Seven teenage descendants of Greek heroes will save the earth'- I'd feel bad for myself. **

**So yeah, if my prophecy should say something like 'the seven will need to defeat Cronus', well, that doesn't really rhyme, and this is all part of my master plan!**

**Yeah, that's about it for now….**

**Demenior**


	9. By Myself

**Demons Within Me**

**Disclaimer: see chapter 1 and I do own my version of the prophecy and the characters I create for small purposes in this story, nor do I own aspirin**

**Warnings: very, very, very mild language. But poor Arch is just having a bad day all around.**

**Authors Note: O. My. Gosh. Archie and Tulais finally come face to face!**

**Chapter 9: By Myself**

**00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000**

Archie waited for a few minutes in the gym, allowing his eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness. That 'council' had been so… strange. He knew the gods were keeping something from him, but he didn't know what. Archie hated it when he didn't know what was going on, especially if it involved him.

He felt a stir of anger in his gut. It was hard sometimes, he was so quick to anger, but it was a familiar feeling and in some strange way, it helped calm him down to know he still had his fury to support him should the gods try and freak him out like that again. His dad used to have the same problem, and sympathized with him about his sudden rush of anger than his mom did. Come to think about it, he'd inherited a lot form his dad.

His hair color had originally been a reddish-violet, but over the years the red had apparently 'vanished' from the color, leaving him with this unnatural purple. His cow-licks had also come from his dad, but by now his dad's hair was starting to recede, meaning he had no problem with cow-licks, and Archie couldn't remember his dad ever having the same hair problems he did. His father had been more on the aggressive side when he didn't really need to be, like Archie, but Archie's anger was a lot stronger and uncontrollable. Or maybe Archie was just nothing like his father and would spiral into driving away all his friends and living as a hermit.

Apart from his dad's nose, Archie had basically received his mother's genes. He had the same sort of 'limp-walk' (which he could cover quite well) that his mother had, especially since she had terrible arthritis in her right heel. It wasn't too hard to guess which side of the family he had gotten Achilles' ancestry from. He had the same slim build, and was quite strong without being muscular like Herry. He'd been home schooled all his life because he couldn't compete in activities like the other kids thanks to his heel. His mom didn't want him to get bullied and got a tad overprotective of him, he almost hadn't made it to Olympia High since he'd had to sneak out and had called her later telling her where he actually was. His dad had secretly congratulated him for a well-though plan and promised to hold mom at bay as long as he could. Apart form education, he'd learned a lot of the way of fighting while protecting his ankle, which was when he'd decided to learn how to use a whip. Back than, he hadn't known how 'girlie' or 'kinky' a whip could be. He just thought it was cool and original. You never saw movies where the hero saved the day with a whip.

Archie massaged his temples as he left the gym and headed down the hall. He'd drop by Chiron's room, quickly pick up something to calm himself down and sleep for the next hundred years. He came up to Chiron's room and slowly pushed open the door…

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Calm down, calm down, Atlanta. Archie's in no trouble right now, really, he's quite fine," Chiron said calmly. The redhead seated herself down, slightly embarrassed by her outburst.

Just then the door opened and a very pale, swaying slightly, Archie walked in. He was mumbling quietly to himself about something and didn't notice him until Atlanta spoke up.

"Archie? A-are you okay?"

He jumped at the sound of her voice and looked startled to see them all there. It was still an hour till school; usually they'd just be waking up.

Then, remembering Atlanta's question, he shook his head and replied, "Yeah, yeah I'm fine."

"You sure, buddy, you look pretty sick to me?" Jay said worriedly.

Archie smirked, "Just plenty tired."

"So, uh, what happened with you, and the dreams and Tulais?" Herry asked curiously.

Archie's smirk seemed to fade suddenly and he looked down at the floor.

So now they know too… but it's a good thing they aren't as afraid as the gods- but Chiron probably already has them freaked out about this Tulais. Augh, I could really do without these immortals right now

"Nothing happened," Archie snapped as he turned to Chiron, "if you have anything that might calm me down a bit, I'm getting a killer headache?"

Chiron nodded slowly, "Here, just take some aspirin and lie down for the day. Relax and take it easy and you should be better by tomorrow."

He handed Archie a few small white pills, all of the teens stared at the centaur.

"What? Just because I like the old ways of dealing with injuries doesn't mean I can't use some of your new, modern ways myself," he snorted proudly.

Six of the seven burst out into snickers and giggles, but strangely, Archie only felt his anger get stronger. It wasn't a very funny joke anyways. He turned with a mumbled 'whatever' and left the room.

Atlanta was the first to notice this and quickly zipped out of the room behind him.

"Archie? Are you sure you're okay? I mean, we could give you a ride home and-"

"Now, I'm fine. I'm just going to walk back to the dorm, raid the fridge and hibernate for a few weeks. The fresh air will do me just fine," Archie growled angrily.

Atlanta was a tad startled by her friend's reaction, but promptly she put her hand son her hips, "Well fine then. But you could at least cheer up a bit!" She turned and stormed back into Chiron's room.

Grumbling about how annoying people were, Archie swallowed the pills without water and headed out to the dorm.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Atlanta stood by the door glaring at the wall opposite her, and it was obvious to Odie that she and Archie had just had a fight. Man, why did those two have to have a fight, now, of all times? When some demon was supposedly prowling the streets in search of them and they were in the middle of fighting with Cronus.

He sighed and rested his chin in his hand. Suddenly, his watch beeped loudly in a familiar yet dreadful tune, meaning he had to get up. Usually the collection of long and short beeps would wake him up at his computer desk after a long night of searching for Cronus or inventing some sort of new gadget, but he'd been up waaaay earlier than normal.

By the time Odie had turned his alarm off, he realized something, and he usually woke up with only about ten minutes to get ready and out the door for school! Everyone was going to have to run home and get their stuff and, and, and… they were going to be late!

"We're going to be late! We have to get going!" he cried and leapt to his feet.

Chiron broke out laughing.

Neil, who was now complaining about not being able to have his wake-up shower, stopped to look at the aged teacher.

"Hey, what gives? It's your fault if we're late, because YOU had to have us come here so early! Now I'm going to be ugly, ALL day!" he cried.

Believe it or not, but Chiron laughed harder.

"W-what is it, sir?" Theresa asked hesitantly.

"Don't you kids remember? It's the long weekend- you have today off!" Chiron explained.

The group looked at each other stupidly, how could they have forgotten?

It began as a snicker from someone, but soon spread to the rest and quickly they were all laughing again.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Terrible.

That was the only way to describe this day, the way he had treated his friends, the way he felt, and the weather, all with one word. It probably hadn't been such a good idea on his part to take those aspirins at school, his head was already starting to feel light and he, himself, was feeling a tad ditzy and lightweight. One more thing to add to his list of why he was really starting to hate Mondays. Or really, just today.

He pulled his hood over his head, but it really wasn't much use. If he'd known it was going to be raining, he might've stayed and gotten the ride back to the dorm, but there was no way he was running back like a dog with his tail between his legs and apologizing for his behavior; not yet.

It was getting hard to see through the downpour, and it wasn't helping that his vision was going in and out of focus, thanks to the aspirins. Curse you modern, quick-relief medicine. Curse you people who thought up the idea of quick-relief. Curse Chiron for having the pills. Curse the immortals for ever making him _want_ the aspirin!

Turning the corner, Archie realized that this area did _not_ look like anywhere near the brownstone. This place was chalk full of warehouses and broken bottles and crates and littler. He huddled up against the side of a warehouse to try and get out of the rain (though it wasn't much use) and try to figure out where he'd taken a wrong turn, but nothing came up.

"Crap!" he cried, and turned and slammed his fist as hard as he could into the metal siding of the warehouse behind him.

He hadn't really meant it when he'd 'cursed the gods', but he was just so angry right now. Usually he'd just go out for a run or do some training to blow off steam, but the aspirin were not helping him calm down at all, instead, they were only making him more irritable. And that wasn't the only thing. He knew Hera was suspicious of him now, allt he gods were and his friends probably were too. Since, after all, he should have never known about the curse and transformation Tulais had gone under, not to mention he shouldn't even know about Tulais.

Plus, he'd snapped at Atlanta and that was going to take a lot of sucking up (well, not really sucking up but just making her feel good around him again) and buying her some dorky card that would get her laughing. It wasn't that he wouldn't to that for her, but right now he was really upset with her. Why did she have to be so stubborn and annoying and hot? Why did she have to be so oblivious to his feelings? If she had been able to tell that he liked her, they could've gone out, maybe made out a few time, and then broken up like any normal couple did.

But was that what he wanted? To get close to her, use her, and then dump her? Was he really that much of a jerk? Atlanta was probably one of the greatest things to ever happen to him! He couldn't imagine life without her now-

"Achilles!" a low, throaty voice suddenly cried.

Archie leapt to his feet in a panic, stumbling from lightheadedness and squinted through the rain. A large, furry figure was standing not too far away. Were those… horns, on its head? And were its eyes glowing? Its eyes were **red**?

"Achilles!" it snarled again.

Lightning flashed and Archie gasped in horror as he realized he was face-to-face with a huge (it's head was probably as high as Archie's shoulders), purple wolf with big white fangs, sharp black claws, black-rimmed glowing red eyes and two black horns sticking up out of its head. Did Cronus send this after him? Archie reached into his pocket to get his whip, but then he realized he didn't have it with him. He didn't have any weapon with him!

"I'm not Achilles!" he finally shouted back, preparing to spring away. His arms were lead and his legs about as equally tired, his vision was getting hazier by the second and he could barely think straight.

"Then why do you have his scent, brat?" Tulais demanded.

The demon had been tracking Achilles' scent all night and day, now he had found his friend, but instead seemed to have found this twig-legged brat. But there it was again, the strange mix-up in Achilles' scent. Strange, this, this child reminded Tulais of himself, before he became a demon.

That was it! That was the other part of this boy's scent! It was a strange combination of Achilles and his own human scent! But why would this boy have such a strange scent like that? Maybe he had recently been in the presence of Achilles and his old friend had had something that used to be his own, present? That had to be it, there was no other way… unless…

"Where is Achilles?" the thing said again.

Archie couldn't believe it had called him a brat though. Anger flowed through his veins again. How dare that, that thing say that about him!

"Achilles is dead, stupid! He's been dead thousands of years!" Archie snapped back.

Oh, he knew he should've shut his mouth and run, but nothing called him a brat to his face and got away with it…

That was it, the brat would have to come with him and Tulais would have to question the mortal when his fur wasn't making him look like a drowned sheep. And he had said it too- Achilles couldn't be dead! But then the brat had dared go far enough to call him stupid! Him, Tulais, stupid? It was to laugh!

But instead Tulais only felt the familiar anger, with a snarl he sprang forwards and tried to knock the boy down…

Archie dodged to the side and grabbed a broken bottle from the ground, wincing as he cut his fingers on the serrated glass. As the demon leapt at him again, Archie sprang to the side and swung the bottle as hard as he could. It shattered on the wolf's snarling muzzle and the things leapt back with a loud yelp of pain.

Archie smirked triumphantly and quickly wiped some of the rain from his eyes. He was ready to fend off this beast, but then realized his 'weapon' was nothing more than a small extension form his hand now that it was even more broken. Frantically he looked around for something he could use, but he could see nothing. An unexpected wave of dizziness washed over him and he sank to his knees.

The demon saw the opening and leapt forwards with a loud snarl. Archie was able to just react fast enough to try and block himself with his arms.

He felt the sharp fangs sink into his arm, just above the elbow, and the pain tore through him like wildfire as the horned wolf shook him by the arm. The pain was too much, and Archie was too lightheaded to really even wonder if he was screaming or not, nor to realize his PMR had fallen from his pocket and been crushed under the demons large paws as it dragged his now unconscious form off to a more private area…

00000000000000000000000000000000000000

**Wow… not much to say, except, does ANYONE see the FORESHADOWING I'm throwing in here? I'll write a request (oneshot) for whoever can guess what's coming up. It's a BIG secret that will affect a lot of this story and the plot, and especially Archie (and Tulais even) himself. In fact, this secret affects basically everyone and anyone Archie meets.**

**Anyone can guess- unless you're from Ficwad and already know ;D**

**Demenior**


	10. Storm

**Demons Within Me**

**Disclaimer: see previous chapters**

**Warnings: Blood, probably some swearing, could be possibly gore**

**Authors Note: This next chapter is dedicated to everyone who has stuck by me so far- reviewed and told me what they thought, or just amped me up to write the next chapter. This is for all you reviewers and readers out there who are yet to review! You guys are the foundation of the fanfiction community!**

**(It's a double-digit now!) Chapter 10: Storm**

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Well, now that we know we have the day off… what are we going to do, guys?" Theresa asked from between Herry and Jay in the front of the red truck.

Neil looked out the window and shuddered, "Now, I know you guys like to rough it and stuff, but there is _no_ possible way you are going out in _that_, is there?"

Everyone glanced out to the heavy rainfall. If the rain kept up like this for a few more hours, there could possibly be some flooding in lower areas of the city. They weren't looking forwards to helping rescue people from a giant river, especially since it would take forever to get Archie over there.

Theresa laughed though, "Oh no, Neil. Even _we_ aren't 'stupid' enough to go out in this weather. I do not want to get soaked."

"Yeah, but didn't Archie walk home? I hope he made it alright- I can barely see where I'm going," Herry commented, eyes glued to the road. He still hadn't been able to get his steering wheel fixed, but it was actually kinda neat to have little spots for his fingers 'carved' in the metal. Maybe he wouldn't get it fixed…

Jay nodded, "He wasn't looking too well. Let's hope he's already inside and made it before the rain really started to fall."

"Oh, I'm sure he's just snoring away without a care in the world," Atlanta muttered, glaring out the window.

She'd had plenty of fights with other guys before, why did having a fight with Archie always affect her so badly? She, yes she, **Atlanta**, wanted to run up to him and apologize for what she hadn't done. Just so that they wouldn't be mad at each other. Archie was too much of a jerk to be that sensitive though, and realize that he'd hurt her feelings. Sometimes she wondered how he ever got along with any girl, but it was obvious he didn't. He couldn't get a girlfriend even if his life depended on it; he was too competitive and arrogant. But she kinda liked that about him. He was the first person ever who could almost beat her in a race, who loved to move around and go places like she did. No wonder they were such good friends.

But best friends don't fight over stupid things like we do…

She frowned and thought back to how Archie had stepped out of line and snapped at her. It had hurt, deep inside, like an angry wound. She had never felt like that before and it had frightened her. So, in defense, she'd snapped back at him, and that had only made him think that she was fighting him. Well, she wasn't going to go beg forgiveness from him; he'd have to apologize to _her_.

Odie looked over worriedly as Atlanta 'humphed' and crossed her arms across her chest, glaring out the window and muttering something that sounded like 'Stupid, arrogant Archie…'

This was not good. Not good at all. Archie and Atlanta were like their 'super-tag-team' team. They had gotten so well at working with each other, that they didn't even stumble or flinch when one of them made a gutsy move, instead, the other would predict it and cover them. It was a hard relationship to form, and the world couldn't risk those two losing that special bond- and their friendship- over some little fight.

Herry, after some time, finally tuned on the radio to listen to some music as he slowly drove through the rain. It was a nice hip-hop song. Neil, after a short while, began 'singing' and 'dancing' along to the music as best he could, which wasn't all that great, but it lifted the sprits of the teens.

Jay flipped through numerous radio stations; everyone groaned knowing he was looking for the news of what was going on elsewhere in the city.

"Look out!" Herry suddenly shouted. He swerved the truck to the side of the road so suddenly that everyone was jerked in their seatbelts.

"What was that for?" Theresa cried in alarm. Everyone else voiced words of agreement.

Herry was already opening his door, "There's an accident, c'mon!"

Understanding now, the other five leapt out of the truck and rush to the scene. Jay was already directing Neil and Theresa to get some glow sticks from the truck to slow down or stop any oncoming traffic and for Odie to contact an ambulance on his PMR. Herry and Atlanta were already helping people out of the three cars, Herry ripping doors off and Atlanta making sure they were alright.

Fortunately, most injuries were minor and there were only small cuts and bruises. One man, unfortunately, was unconscious. With step-by-step instructions from the person on the other end of the call, Odie helped direct them to rolling the man on his side and Odie stayed with him to make sure he didn't die while the others finished up with the crash site.

It was then that they found the young woman, who had been thrown form her car. She had broken her arm and it was lying in a very abnormal position and as Jay and Herry went to pick her up, she woke up and started screaming. With Odie's directions, once again, Herry had to hold her down until she calmed down, but there was nothing they could do until the paramedics arrived.

Finally they heard the familiar alarm of the white truck as it came to the accident, slowed by Neil and his bright fire stick. Everyone was checked over and all of them were taken back to the hospital to do check-up's. The woman with the broken arm and the unconscious man were lifted into stretchers and carried away.

A policeman, now that they had arrived, interviewed the kids and asked what they knew. They told him as much as they could and he nodded slowly as they took turns explaining. He also informed them that everyone was going to be fine, save for bumps and bruising. Finally, he dismissed them and grinned.

"Bless you kids; you're making our jobs so much easier. I bet that the man (the unconscious one) could 'a easily died if you hadn't helped out. Thanks a bunch, you're real heroes." He trotted over to help redirect traffic.

"You have no idea," Atlanta said out loud to the group. They ginned and laughed, not caring that they were soaking wet.

"Man, lucky for those guys we left school late," Neil commented as they loaded back into the truck. The blonde smirked and nudged Odie in the ribs with a grin, causing the younger to laugh.

"Now, you guys had better get my truck too wet," Herry called back, looking into the review mirror briefly as he drove around the wreckage.

"Too late, buddy!" Odie snickered. Neil squirmed in his seat, making squeaky noises with his wet clothes against the material of the car seat. He and Neil only began to laugh harder.

"Oh great," Jay murmured out of the corner of his mouth to Theresa, "once they start, they won't stop."

Theresa giggled and Jay's eyes widened, "Not you too!" he cried in mock desperation. Now he had Theresa _and_ Herry laughing.

Usually, Atlanta would poke fun at Archie at a time like this, but her frien- currently EXfriend- wasn't around right now. She missed him, she realized, it would've been nice to laugh with him. They'd driven the others crazy once or twice with their uncontrollable fits of laugher.

Sighing, she realized that she couldn't really take being angry with him right now. She'd get an apology out of him, even if she had to throttle it out, but she'd get one and give one back. Something definitely was going on with Archie, and it had to do with why he had snapped at her. She was going to find out what was wrong and help 'make it better' like when he had done that for her. Like when Jay had died, and he had comforted her, or when he had brought her out of the trances with DJ Panic and Arachne.

She wondered briefly how he was right now, he'd probably gotten soaked, but lucky him he didn't have to worry about getting sick. Without thinking, she had already pulled out her PMR and was calling him.

Strange, there was no signal. Even if he'd been sleeping, there should've been a signal and all it would do would be to ring and, maybe, if he woke up, he'd answer. Or maybe he was turning off his PMR just because he didn't want to talk to her? She felt a tightening in her chest, like when he'd snapped at her, and it panicked her. She had no idea what was happening. Maybe she was sick? That was it. She'd go see Chiron tomorrow before school. She'd go over when Archie left to train in the morning. She'd get a check-over from Chiron and then go poke fun at Archie while he trained.

"Archie's not answering me," she said to the others. There were looks between everyone; something had to be wrong if Archie wasn't answering Atlanta. Odie pulled out his PMR and called Archie. He shook his head and closed the device when he got no signal. Jay tried and didn't get anything.

"Could you check for Archie's GPS location? His PMR probably just got soaked by the rain, but we need to be sure, just in case," Jay said, casting a worried glance at Atlanta since she'd be the most worried. She didn't meet his gaze, but he could still tell she was worried. Call it, Leader's Intuition, or even 'Common Sense' if you will.

"I can't… Wait," Odie was pressing numerous buttons on his PMR, but then he shook his head and sat back into his seat, "Sorry, nothing."

Jay and Theresa exchanged a glance and then looked to Herry.

"I know, I know. I'm going as fast as I can in this weather, but it's really hard," he replied.

The many-times descendant of Hercules stepped down on the gas pedal and they could hear the engine rev from the sudden increase in work it needed to do against the harsh storm outside.

"Well, assuming the worst, who can we think of that would be out to get us, or Archie, for that matter?" Theresa said slowly.

"Well, that's a hard question, Cronus!" Odie said wryly.

Everyone nodded slowly, hoping it wouldn't be the God of Time. If it was… Archie could be in big trouble.

But wait, hadn't Chiron been talking about something else? Why Archie was 'in trouble' with the gods?

"Tulais…" Atlanta said quietly, "he was best friends with Achilles. He might've mistaken Archie for Achilles! What if Archie ran into him?"

Neil burst out laughing and slapped his knee, "Mistaken _him _for Achilles? Dude, he looks _nothing_ like Achilles! Besides, Achilles was a lot easier on the eyes than Archie is. Chiron told us that this Tulais guy is some big purple wolf, kinda hard not to miss, even in the city," he answered smartly.

Atlanta glared and punched at the blonde across Odie.

"Hey! Hey! Watch the hair!" Neil cried as he did his best to dodge.

"Neil, that was mean," Atlanta hissed, "take it back."

"What? You do have to admit Archie sure isn't the 'handsomest' guy around, even though his ancestor was supposed to be the most eye-catching warrior in that big battle he fought in," Neil argued.

"Well, Archie may not be 'traditionally' handsome, but he's a really… great guy," Theresa said, trying to calm everyone down. She looked through the review mirror at Atlanta who was still scowling angrily at the blonde. But she turned away and glared out the window.

"Archie would've called if he got into any real trouble, right?" Jay said in as light a tone as he could, to try and ease the sudden tension.

But what if Tulais does have Archie, Jay? What if I never get to speak to him again? What if he dies being angry at me? What if he's hurt right now, alone, in the rain? What if it's Cronus who has him? What if he's being tortured? All it would take would be a blow to the ankle and he could be dead! What if I never get to talk to him again? What if the last things I said to him were those angry words we exchanged in our little fight? No, no, please don't let him be dead- be hurt! Just that the GPS and his PMR got soaked in the rain, he's asleep right now and waiting for us to get home. I'll go talk to him later and he'll apologize and then we'll laugh at how stupid we were, I'll give him a hug and his stupid manly macho-ness will get in the way and he'll awkwardly hug me back. We'll go out boarding, eat lunch at some fast-food restaurant and drop by the drive-in like we sometimes do, before Jay calls us back because it's getting too late. Everything's alright.

Atlanta let out a long sigh, Archie was perfectly fine, curled up in bed.

She felt her cheeks heat up when she wondered how he looked when he slept, or if he took his shirt off or even if he slept in his boxers. She shifted further towards the window to hide the blush on her tan cheeks. She leaned her forehead on the window to help cool herself off.

Why was she thinking so… oddly of Archie all of a sudden? When had their 'relationship' changed? They'd known each other for over six months now, but it seemed like they'd always been together, going off and doing crazy things together. One time, she still smiled and giggled at the memory; they'd decided to try and go hiking and ended up getting completely lost for one weekend, worrying the others terribly. Fortunately, the nights had been warm and they'd just stayed put for the day that the rescuers were out looking for them. After that, Jay wouldn't allow them to go out anywhere without their GPS locater on, so that Odie would be able to find them when they were needed.

She understood why the others sometimes thought she and Archie were dating, they did spend a lot more time with each other than they did with everyone else, and their outings did seem a lot like dates, but they weren't… or were they? She recalled looking at the photographs only a few hours ago, and noticing that Archie had been blushing in them. Maybe he… was that why he hung out with her all the time? He like-liked her? She didn't return those feelings… or did she?

Was she, Atlanta, falling in love with Archie?

Suddenly there was the sound of crunching metal and the front of the truck shuddered, the engine dieing and the lights going out.

"Whoa!" Herry yowled. Theresa screamed and jay grabbed her tightly.

Atlanta squinted out the window into the dark morning, looking through the rain on the window. There was something big; they had hit some sort of animal…

Then she gasped in horror, it was a giant wolf. A giant purple wolf, with horns. As it scrambled away from the truck, limping slightly, she nearly screamed out loud.

It had Archie. That **Thing** had Archie in its mouth!

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**So, was that a good chapter? Some more Atlanta-contemplating-her-relationship-with-Archie, and I drove you insane by prolonging any scene with Archie and Tulais, eh? Well, you're STILL going to have to wait to find out if the group will be able to get Archie back or not, and if Tulais will be friend or foe.**

**Demenior**


	11. Skirmish in the Storm

**Demons Within me**

**Disclaimer: Does this story appear to fit for a Class of the Titans episode or movie? I think not. I only own what I've created, which is pretty obvious to tell.**

**Pairings: Same as always**

**Warnings: Blood, some swearing, fighting, Tulais admiring Atlanta/Atalanta's body (not descriptive)**

**Authors Note; Yes, I know I haven't updated in a while, but I hit a bit of a block with this story because I didn't know where I was going with it. But now I'm back on track, and I did have an little vacation as well, but I'll be updating again as soon as possible- I'm so sorry guys!**

**Chapter 11: Skirmish in the Storm**

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"That- that Thing has ARCHIE! It has ARCHIE!" Atlanta screamed. Jay's head whirled to the side and he too say the brief glimpse of their friend, being held by his tattered hoodie, dangling from the wolf-creatures' mouth like a scrap of meat.

"Go!" Jay cried, opening his door and leaping out into the rain. Atlanta was already out, digging for her mini-wrist-crossbow.

The wolf-goat thing was huge, larger than what Archie had first thought. In truth, his head reached probably Herry's shoulders. The black horns on his head gave him even more height. His ears were pointed, usually standing up with small tuffs of purple fur on the tips. His thick purple coat was thick and slightly shaggy, when it wasn't wet, and just a shade redder than Archie's hair. His tail was large and fluffy, while his claws were long and sharp. His fangs were gleaming white, still sharp as a sword, and his eyes were deep, angry red. Somewhat like Theresa's shirt, but full of hatred. They were outlined with dark black rings of fur. He was struggling to get up, and limping terribly from his run-in with Herry's truck. Some spots of blood were beginning to show up on his fur.

Wait… Chiron had just told them about him! This had to be Tulais- that demon who knew Achilles. But Chiron had told them he wouldn't hurt Archie, and yet it looked like Archie was in bad shape as well. What was going on?

"That's it buddy! First, you kidnap my fried, then, you wrecked my truck! You are in for a world of hurt!" Herry cried, cracking his knuckles.

Jay put his hands out to tell his teammates to not attack.

"Tulais!" he called through the rain, "we know you were good friends with Achilles, but he's dead. What do you want with Archie? Please, if you just set him down and leave we can all forget about this!"

To his surprise, Tulais set Archie down on the ground, but then the demon snarled angrily.

"Dead? Do all of you idiots now lie to me? Achilles was immortal- he will be a god when I complete my mission! So just tell me where I might find him and you can have your brat back."

Had it been any other occasion, Jay might've laughed at Archie being called a brat by someone who had known his ancestor, but this was no laughing matter right now.

"I mean it, Achilles is dead! If you want- we could ask the gods to help us-" He was cut off by the demon.

"I'll have nothing to do with the gods! They are the ones that caused me all this misery! And since you as well cannot tell me of Achilles' whereabouts, I will wait until I find someone who can- starting with this brat!"

Before anyone could react, Tulais roughly grabbed Archie in his jaws again, the others winced at the sound of ripping fabric, and the demon turned and ran with an odd, limpish gallop.

"After him!" Jay commanded, but it was unnecessary for him too- the others were already running.

"Get back here!" he heard Herry call somewhere ahead of him.

There was a streak of light as Atlanta, seeming to come out of nowhere, fired a laser at the demon and nearly hit him. The wolf stopped abruptly to narrowly avoid the hit, but then the red-head kicked him in the side of his head. He stumbled and nearly dropped Archie, but regained his balance and knocked Atlanta aside with a swipe form one of his large paws and bolted once more.

Theresa and Herry were quickly gaining, Odie and Neil hanging back looking for any way to possibly help without getting IN the way. Jay drew his sword and heard the familiar and comforting 'shhhng' as the sword emerged from the handle in all its glory.

Raging mad now, Atlanta leapt to her feet, ignoring her ripped shirt, and took off after the demon using her high speed.

How _dare_ that demon hurt her friend before she did! _Only_ she could pick on Archie, and even give him a bruise in their playful wrestling. This demon had no right whatsoever to try and steal her friend away before she could get an apology out of him.

She sped right past him and glared the demon in the eye in the brief moment they were side-by-side. The she sped ahead and skidded to a stop with her mini-crossbow aimed and ready to fire in the demons face should he try _anything_ funny.

Tulais skidded to a halt, looking her right in the eye. But then he gasped through his fangs and Archie's limp body. It couldn't be _her_… it couldn't. She looked so young, compared to the older, but still beautiful, Atalanta he had fallen in love with years ago.

But now she was so youthful and beautiful… her hair was not long and wavy like it once was, and strangely she did seem slightly shorter than he remembered. But it was her! Slim body, tan skin, long legs, red hair and a fighter second-to-none but him, and of course Achilles. He was almost lost in the memories of admiring her, when he remembered what had happened all because of _her_… and the familiar, blinding anger flooded his veins again and he bit deeper into the warm body of the boy with mixed scents who still remained in his jaws. The brat moaned slightly, but was still otherwise unaware of the danger he was in.

"Put. Him. Down." Atalanta hissed.

Never- he wouldn't surrender to her after all the suffering and loneliness she had caused him. No, he would kill her and show the gods what it meant to tangle with Tulais. He dropped the brat on the ground again, hearing a muffled 'oomph' from him as the mortal hit the ground. He prepared to spring forwards and Atalanta began to shake, knowing that he was going to attack her.

"Now you'll pay for what you did to me!" he cried.

Suddenly, someone large barreled straight into his side. The side that had been hit by that monstrous, loud robot-machine. Tulais howled in pain and leapt back, suddenly realizing that he'd been cut off from the only thing that might tell him where Achilles was!

The boy was tall, muscular and rather brute-like. There was a rather displeased look on his face as he cracked his knuckles.

"Let's rock, Fuzzy!" he called as he ran forwards. Tulais was still reeling slightly from the earlier blow this youth had given him, and he wasn't able to dodge as quickly.

"This is what you get for making us run around in this stupid storm!" a female voice cried and he felt a hard blow to his head, right above the eye. The girl had long orange hair and was slim but well-built; carrying what looked like nun-chucks.

Tulais growled loudly and leapt forwards at them, trying to drive them away from the brat with dual scents. But then another brunette, seemingly the leader of the small band, came out of the heavy rain and swung his sword in a high arc. It clashed against his horns and left Tulais feeling lightheaded and tired. But even if it seemed the odds were against him, he'd never surrender. He never had before.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Atlanta, since being saved from a stunning side-tackle by Herry, had dashed to Archie's side and was trying to wake him up. The boy moaned and his grey-blue eyes slowly flickered open. He sat up abruptly, probably remembering being attacked by Tulais, and then grabbed his head with a low moan of pain.

"Are you okay?" Atlanta asked worriedly.

Archie looked up into her face, "'Lan?" he said softly.

She grinned at her nickname, "Yeah, you doofus, now we're all getting soaked in the rain because you had to go get kidnapped by some giant, purple dog." She had meant it in a teasing way but she saw the hurt in his eyes as she said it.

"Oh, come off it, I'm joking. Now, can you get up? Your hoodie's close to toast, as well as your arm," she said softer.

He nodded slowly, "I-I think I can… where are the others?"

Suddenly they heard a loud roar and Herry came sailing through the air to land near them.

"Nice to see you up! Get in the truck and we'll meet you back there!" he called as he struggled out of the mud and dove back into battle.

Archie tried to get up, but it was painfully obvious that he was having a lot of trouble. Atlanta sighed wrapped an arm under his shoulders, careful not to touch his bloody arm as least as possible. She blushed as she found herself thinking about how warm Archie was, though soaked and bloody, compared to the freezing rain around them.

"Uh… th-thanks," he said quietly once he was standing. She let him catch him breath a moment before taking a step forwards, with him still leaning on her, back towards Herry's truck.

He pulled away to try and walk on his own, feeling a little embarrassed that he needed a girl's help to even walk. He tried to take a step, but his legs and feet betrayed him and he fell onto Atlanta again. She grinned slightly as he leaned on her again.

"Can't do this yourself, eh?" she went to pull him arm over her shoulders.

"A-Atlanta… y-your shirt!" Archie looked away from her quickly, with an obvious blush on her face.

Atlanta quickly looked down and realized that when Tulais had ripped her shirt, he had done more damage to it than she had previously thought. Her shirt was basically little shreds of cloth on her shoulders, not really covering anything at all. No one had noticed because they hadn't been able to see her shirt through the rain, except for Archie now that she was practically carrying him. She felt a red-hot blush spread across her cheeks as she looked around for anything to cover up with.

"H-here," Archie stuttered, still looking away. He pulled away form her, managing to just stand, and unzipped his hoodie, pulling it off as he spoke, "I know it's… dirty, but just to, you know, cover up."

At any other point, Atlanta probably would have teased and laughed at his embarrassment, but she was just as embarrassed and eagerly grabbed the hoodie and threw it on, zipping it up and wondering how it could possibly be so warm while it was now so ragged and wet.

Archie shivered in the cold, feeling more awake since waking up, but was still groggy and very, very lightheaded, but sensible enough to feel the pain in his most-likely-dislocated shoulder and in his back. Atlanta pulled his arm over her shoulders once more and helped him start walking back to the truck.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Odie, knowing he wouldn't be much help in a fight against, well, anything _living_, was trying to hotwire the truck so that at least they'd have a ride home. He was getting Neil to help him, somewhat.

"So… what are you doing again?" Neil asked from the passenger seat.

"I'm…connecting… these wires… so that the batteries can… jumpstart the engine…. and we can have… a relatively dry… ride home," Odie grunted from under the dashboard.

"And what do I do?" Neil commented boredly.

"You're lucky. You just start the engine once I go outside and finish hooking up the rest of the wires. Hopefully, with your talent, the engine should start," Odie replied, slightly annoyed because Neil had been asking that question for the whole time he had been working.

"I swear, Odie, we're getting ripped off in the back seat- look at all this cool stuff these guys get up here! And their seats are comfier too! And there are little buttons to push- how come we never get cool little buttons?- and flashing lights, and there's that screeny-thing that Herry can find everyone on, and look at his steering wheel! It even has finger-grips that look like they'll fit his fingers _only_! That is so unfair!"

"There! I think that'll do it!" Odie commented proudly. He pulled himself into the driver's seat and stretched out to relieve the kinks in his back from being cramped into the small space for so long.

"Hmm… what does this button do?" Odie cracked an eye open and watched through his green-tinted glasses, horrified, as Neil pressed a button with the word 'AIRBAG' printed neatly across it.

"Neil! Stop!"

Neil pushed the button and he and Odie were shoved against the seats...

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Herry! Give me a lift!" Theresa cried.

Herry boosted her up into the air with a grunt and a heave, and Jay shot past him on the ground.

Tulais, even though he was already badly injured, was putting up quite the fight. Theresa was missing her pant leg below her knee on her right leg, Jay had lost a bit of the side of his shirt, and Herry had some nice, big claw marks across his chest.

Tulais managed to parry Jay's attack, but Theresa hit him square on the muzzle. He howled loudly and pulled away as fast as he could.

His paws once again slipped in the mud and his body shook in an effort to stay upright. Had he been in better condition, he most likely would have been rid of these children by now, but they were… he hated to admit it, but they were too strong at the moment.

"Fine!" he snapped angrily, "you can have the brat! I will find Achilles- and once I do, I'll be back to make sure Atalanta pays for the curse she bestowed upon me!"

He couldn't believe he was fleeing. Never before had he been so ashamed, but he would die here and never find Achilles if he didn't run. Feeling as if he were full of bronze, Tulais turned and sprang away from the fight, cursing and howling the whole way.

Theresa, Jay and Herry all let out a sigh of relief as the demon fled.

"That was fun," Theresa said sarcastically, flipped her long hair over her shoulder. Jay tried to shake some of the rain out of his hair to no avail, but he grinned and gave Theresa a playful punch on the arm. Herry cracked his knuckles and then remembered the whole reason why they had rushed out to fight the demon.

"C'mon, Atlanta must have Archie back at the truck by now; we'll get him to se Chiron from there."

The three turned and ran back to the other four in their group who were still waiting for them.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**Heeeey, lookit! An update!**

**Before I start, yes, Herry's "Let's rock, Fuzzy!" is a play on his line: "Let's rock, Slime-o!" which I think he says once or twice… in episodes I cannot recall for the life of me.**

**I want to do a big favor for you guys (besides updating again really, really soon) I want to tell you to keep and eye out and try to remember little things happening here and there (I won't name what) but I think you'll know which ones. Because now, the story really starts to kick off and a lot of what happens here will be explained in the sequel.**

**Yes, you head me correct; there is a SEQUEL for 'Demons Within Me'. I have it basically planned out, and so I'm just trying to fit all the pieces together for you. If you don't understand what's going on, just let me know and I'll help as much as I can. If you want me to do a quick sum-up of stuff to remember, I'll do that- but in later chapters, not now.**

**Demenior**


	12. The True Prophecy

Demons Within Me

Disclaimer: see previous chapters

Warning: My version of a BETTER prophecy not really and Atlanta is the creep this time.

Pairings: Still on-and-off Jay/Theresa/Neil, Archie and Atlanta should get together sometime soon

Chapter 12: The True Prophecy

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Well, though it was a rough fight you had there, you'll all come out fine," Chiron smiled warmly as he finished inspecting the bruise on Odie's nose that he had received form being hit with the airbag. Neil had been lucky and hadn't been hit as hard as Odie had, seeing as the blonde had already been leaning back while Odie had been sitting forwards in this seat. His precious glasses had been shoved into his face so hard he had a bruising cut across the bridge of his nose now. All thanks to Neil.

"Now, you see, that's why I like it better in the back. No nasty little buttons to push and hurt us back there!" Neil exclaimed suddenly. Everyone turned to look at him oddly, but Odie just groaned and gave the taller boy a nasty little glare. His glasses were broken, but Hephaestus was already tinkering with them in his workshop, along with Herry's truck.

Archie smirked from his place on the lengthy chair that Chiron often used as a hospital bed. He was beginning to fall asleep again, thanks to some more medicine form Chiron, his overall fatigue, and the previous aspirins. Curse aspirins. Atlanta, still wearing his hoodie, was sitting beside him.

"Hey, Arch," he heard her whisper quietly.

He cracked open and eye to look at her, "Yeah?"

"You know… that fight we had… before you left…" she trailed off, not wanting to come right out and say it. Knowing Atlanta, she didn't want to be the one apologizing. But in fact, Archie wasn't even upset with her at all anymore.

Archie smiled, "Yeah, what can I do to make it up to you?"

She grinned back at him, "Well I think it'll take a burger and a nice trip out somewhere before I entirely forgive you."

"Don't we still have those tickets to the circus?" he asked, smiling again now that they weren't at each others throats.

"Yeah- we'll have to go in and exchange the coupons for real tickets, but yeah. We've still got them," she answered after a moment's thought.

"I'll take you to the circus then. How does that sound?" he closed his tired eyes and leaned back into the chair.

"It sounds great," Atlanta smiled, giving his shoulder a friendly pat.

"Now," Chiron looked att he group, "I believe it's best if Archie gets back to the dorm right away and gets some sleep. It would be very good for all of you. So no more over-doing yourselves for no reason unless to fight Cronus himself. I want you all curled up on the couch together, or in your own beds, or whatever it is you kids like to do on a rainy day. As long as you're resting up."

"Yes sir," they all replied in a jumble of voices.

Archie, though he was once again falling asleep on his feet, was able to be pulled up (courtesy of Herry) and managed to make it back to the truck in one piece.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Chiron looked up as Hera entered the room.

"So, Chiron, it is true that Tulais has found Archie?" she asked, somewhat hesitantly.

The centaur nodded gravely, "Yes. That demon had found the children, but I do not think he recognizes the significance of them, especially Archie, quite yet. Maybe it will be that he never knows and they will stay as enemies- the prophecy might not come to pass!"

"Part of it already has," Hera said slowly.

"…And many years later,

Offspring of seven heroes well known,

Must fight together

For the heir to the throne."

Chiron shuddered as he heard her whisper the part of the prophecy that they had allowed the children to know.

"But what about the entire prophecy, Hera? You know you cannot stop what has been predicted-"

"Enough, Chiron. No mortal, 'Demonspawn', or 'Godslayer', and no matter how blessed he may be, no mortal can destroy the gods. We are INmortal. We do not die, but they do. Nothing can end OUR reign upon OUR earth!" Hera hissed through clenched teeth.

"So, please, just tell me the prophecy once again and I will keep and eye out for you. I understand the cost to us if Archie is allowed to live past defeating Cronus," Chiron said solemnly.

"Very well," Hera nodded slowly. She cleared her throat and spoke in a monotone voice,

"The son of Thetis,

The sea-fairing nymph,

And of Peleus,

The love struck young twit,

Will join with Tulais,

Son of the violet hair,

And rally and army of heroes,

To fight the almighty, they dare.

To revolt the gods,

Those on a higher stage,

Much Time will be needed,

To re-begin the First Age.

Each god must fall,

Those kind, cruel and fair,

By the allies hard bronze,

Now called 'Demonspawn' and 'Godslayer'.

Immortal blood burning,

Returned to the source,

Restoring what was,

To bring another Lord forth.

The joined pair,

Shall thwart even Time,

And fight the Heavens, they must,

For Earth to survive.

Then the true King shall come,

Once the Immortals are gone,

With his bright, tranquil Queen,

To thank their chosen one.

So many years later,

Offspring of seven heroes well known,

Must fight together,

For the heir to the throne."

Chiron nodded slowly as he heard the frightening message that the Oracle had predicted so long ago.

"Obviously Zeus is the 'heir to the throne', but with him being 'powerless' and all, I must fill in for him. Meaning the heroes must fight against Cronus for us, and then we must be rid of Archie as soon as Cronus is jailed once more. I would rather have him killed earlier, but we cannot kill him without breaking the prophecy."

Chiron nodded slowly, "So we are sure Archie is the only descendant of Achilles… and Tulais, left?"

Hera nodded, "He is the only Demonspawn we need worry about."

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Night Jay."

"Night Neil."

"Night Odie."

"Night Herry."

"Night Theresa."

"Night Atlanta," Archie said after the constant chatter of 'goodnight' had finished and everyone except him and Atlanta were in their rooms.

So turned to look at him and smiled, then opened her door. Archie sighed, wondering why she hadn't said 'night' back, but shrugged it off. She was tired, they all were.

He was about to enter his room, when someone nearly tackled him form behind.

"Goodnight Archie!" Atlanta giggled slightly, her arms wrapped around him in a hug-from-behind.

When she pulled away he caught her in a 'playful' hug, and wished her a good sleep.

After the two of them had actually gone to their rooms, for good, Archie flopped down onto his bed. It actually hadn't been any earlier than this morning her had been asleep, and yet, it felt like it had been forever.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Atlanta curled up on her bed, smiling now that she and Archie were on such good speaking terms again. She curled her arms up under her head and breathed deeply. Then her eyes fluttered open, wondering what smelled so… it wasn't unfamiliar or unpleasant, but more like seeing a good friend after a long time. She realized that, in truth, she was still wearing Archie's hoodie. She sighed contently and curled up more. Maybe he wouldn't want it back, since now it was a little torn up. She wouldn't mention it to him, or anyone, that was for sure.

Atlanta took another intake of Archie's scent, giggling when she recognized the slightly musty, stale smell from the library. She'd never tell him that she knew where he hung out when they couldn't find him, hiding away in the back of the library with his hood pulled up and some fascinating novel in front of his face to hide himself from anyone who might recognize him. She never tell him how she tailed him sometimes, wondering what he did in his spare time. She'd sound too much like a creep, or a stalker, if she told anyone that.

But the truth was, she wanted to know a ot more about Archie. She wanted to be a big part of his life because even though they hadn't known each other very long at all, he was a big part of her life. They weren't 'going out' or anything, but Atlanta just loved every minute she could spend with Archie. They shared a lot of the same ideas about different things, like a lot of the same food, loved to run. Archie was the only one, a number of times, who had come with her on little hiking trips over the weekends when they should've been doing their homework. That was another thing they had in common, neither of them could sit still long enough to really do good in school. Atlanta always found herself daydreaming about other things. Like her hikes with Archie in the mountains, missions where she and Archie had fought side-by-side and had been an unstoppable force, times when he'd made her laugh so hard she had been crying, times where he had come to her aid again and again…

Yeesh, she really was a creepy.

"Oh well," she murmured to herself, her eyes fluttering shut as she slowly fell asleep.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Tulais was shaking as he finally managed to find the edge of the woods around this god-forsaken city. He had no idea of what was going on, but this was definitely not the same time he had lived in.

He was sore, bloody and bruised. His pride had been shattered and he had lost his only chance to find Achilles. But what had they all said? Achilles… dead?

Could it be true? Could someone… or one of the gods… have become so enraged with Achilles that they showed his weakness- his heel- to the Trojan Army?

So, if that meant the brat and all those other children had been telling the truth, then how could that boy have the scents of Achilles and himself?

He did look an awful lot like Achilles, but he also greatly reminded Tulais of himself, when he had been human. And that Atalanta… she looked so much like HIS Atalanta, but she wasn't. It was clear now.

Could that mean then… that these were offspring- descendants of the heroes he had known? And that brat, with the two-scents, he must be of Achilles and Tulais' own lineage!

Tulais shook his head, trying to clear his fur of the rain that was making his coat heavier by the second.

He needed answers, soon, to be able to piece together this confusing puzzle he had found himself a part of. Later, once his wounds had healed up, he would find that brat and speak with him. Learn what was going on. Like why Cronus was free, why and how Achilles had died.

Yes, he would learn all these things in due time.

Tulais limped up the mountainside, sighing in relief as he found a cave large enough to fit him.

Yes, he would get answers. But for now, he needed to rest.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000

Swimming through the water as quickly as she could, the beautiful nymph thought in her head the many places where the gods could be by now.

She had no real idea where they were, or where she was going, but she could sense a large presence of power coming from one city. They HAD to be there.

She had to warn him, save him. If the gods hadn't already killed him, she would make sure they did not. He must be allowed to survive.

She had lost one child because of the gods already, and she was not going to allow them to hurt her bloodline anymore.

Her blue-black hair swept behind her as if she were running as fast as the wind. She drew up her cloak, to conceal herself from the gods once she arrived on land, and touched the pouch she carried around her neck.

It contained some of the ashes from the son she had lost. He was supposed to be a great warrior, to become a great conqueror of many lands. But no, the gods had feared him because of the prophecy that foretold their doom. They had put it in the mind of his best friend to go off to try and find immortality for her son.

Tulais had become a demon, Achilles was dead. She had not spoken to anyone since the death of her son in grief that the gods should be such cowards.

She had not spoken to anyone… except…

She remembered the young boy, drowning. She had given him back his life and led him to the surface. It had been all too easy to see the resemblance of Achilles and Tulais in his young face. And now he was in terrible danger, and she would save him.

Thetis would not fail again!

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000

How's that for a fast update?

Haha, Atlanta's a creep in her own way.

Well, I don't have to tell you guys to remember the prophecy, do I?

And now we know why Tulais went off to find immortality for Achilles, and the 'real' reason why Achilles died.

And here comes Thetis to the rescue!

ARCHIE IS A DESCENDANT OF TULAIS!

So will Archie be able to survive? Will he and Atlanta ever get to admit how they actually feel about one another? Will they even REALIZE how they feel about one another?

Review please!

Demenior


	13. A Shocking Secret

Demons Within Me

Disclaimer; see previous chapters. The information given about Nisus is from 'Mythology' by Edith Hamilton, 1940 + 1942, and various internet sources

Warnings: Archie skips class- I DO NOT PRMOTE SKIPPING SCHOOL

Pairings: same as always

Authors Note: My goodness… 90 (probably higher by now) reviews! I've almost hit 100 and this story is just STARTING to kick off.

One thing I noticed people thinking in their reviews, and I'm not trying to CORRECT you, but I just want to point out-

Hera is not evil. All she is doing is trying to survive. Think about it- if you learned this kids, who should have no chance of defeating, let alone killing, you, was supposed to KILL you and your entire FAMILY, how would you react?

And also- all the gods must die because 'all Immortal blood must be returned to it's source in order for the true lord to come forth'.

So really, none of the characters/my characters in this story are evil, they're just doing what's best for them to survive (mostly) and if not… then there is always an ulterior motive.

Glad you all liked my plot twist, and let me tell you, I have PLENTY more to come. Just ask StinkFace how she feels about the little snippet's I've told her, or if you guys want, I could possibly give you a little snippet yourselves?

Depends on how many people ask, and how nicely they ask without begging.

No begging, PLEASE. Begging is not for you awesome people out there who are reviewing this story and helping me sit down again and again to write more. I love seeing your reviews, thoughts and responses to the chapters. I live to satisfy!

(Uh-oh, unlucky number! I need Neil's talent for this one!)

Chapter 13: A Shocking Secret

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Slowly, Archie opened his eyes and sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He stretched out with a loud yawn. Had yesterday actually happened? Or had it all been a bad dream?

No, he was still in his white shirt and blue shorts- having forgotten to change out of his regular clothes since he had been so tired after yesterday. He was feeling much, much grander today. Considering just yesterday he had been dragged around by some demon that had apparently known his ancestor and had tried to kill his friends when they tried to rescue him. All in the day of a hero.

Archie looked around dumbly for his hoodie. Then he smiled as he remembered, it had gotten fairly tattered and torn up, but he had given it to Atlanta after her shirt had nearly been torn off. He felt his cheeks heat up as he remembered what she looked like…

No, Archie! No! He mentally commanded.

Even though he was feeling much, much better, some dark thoughts were weighing heavily on his mind.

He couldn't get the image of Tulais out of his head- when the demon had been human. How similar he and Tulais looked- even if Archie was a descendant of Achilles… well, he didn't really look the part either. Achilles had red hair, like his mom did. Archie had the purple hair that he had received from his dad- hair about the same color as Tulais'. They had the same nose, Archie, his father, and Tulais. Wait… could they be… related?

Archie shook his head quickly. No! He was not- COULD not- be related to a DEMON!

But other things were bothering him. The fact that Hera had been so frightened by 'The Prophecy' was still nagging at him. If 'Seven Offspring of the heroes were going to save Zeus'- what did she have to fear? Unless there was more…

Archie's eyes widened. Of course! There had to be more! Something that Hera, and the other gods, weren't telling them!

Still, something else was troubling him further. What was it that he was supposed to remember? Archie jumped as someone banged loudly on his door.

"Archie! You up yet? Hurry up or you'll be late for school!" Herry called loudly before thumping down the stairs.

Oh no! It was a school day! Archie jumped up and finally found a black sweatshirt to wear, digging around for his unfinished homework and then racing down the stairs.

He grabbed an apple and ate it in the truck, along with everyone else who had slept in as well and hadn't had time to eat a calm, peaceful breakfast.

Herry parked the truck, making sure to lock it, and then ran for his first class. Everyone else turned and ran as well. Archie got inside, but to his dismay the bell rang- and his class was still on the other side of the school. And in fact, he didn't really even want to go. Knowing that this decision would come back to haunt him, Archie turned and strolled towards the library.

The library had to be his most favorite place in the entire school. Unfortunately, it was also the 'nerdiest' place in the school, aside form the computer room. But Archie had been raised with a love for literature (especially mythology) and, plain and simple, didn't understand the social status all too well since he had never really been raised in it. He loved to lose himself in a wonderfully written tale hidden in ink and paper.

He ducked his head down as he entered, trying to avoid any identification by the librarian or any other student that could be nearby, but this was hard now that he was minus a hoodie and only had the black sweater to wear. He went straight to the 'Classic's section of the library and selected a book off the shelf, 'The Iliad' and then sat down in an old chair that he was sure only he used, way in the back of the library. Despite the lack of love for books at this school, they had quite an impressive library, to Archie at least, he had never seen so many books in one place in his entire life.

Lazily skimming the pages of the now-memorized poem, still feeling butterflies in his stomach every time Achilles was mentioned, thoughts burned through Archie's mind.

Could it be true that he really was the descendant of Tulais- and Achilles? That would explain a lot of things about him, but not all. Like why did he take more after Tulais instead of Achilles if he was a hero like his hero ancestor? Archie felt strangely calm thinking that Tulais could possibly be his own ancestor as well, as if he had almost expected it after 'seeing' Tulais for the first time in that dream he'd had of Tulais' trial. What was it his father had said to him every time he complained about having 'weird' hair?

'My father had purple hair, his father had purple hair, and HIS father had purple hair…'

Suddenly, 'The Iliad' dropped from Archie's shaking hands as he paled considerably. If all of the men on his fathers' side of the family had had purple hair, the cow-lick 'horns' and had been quick to anger… that meant he wasn't just a descendant of Tulais- he was a DIRECT descendant!

Wait, wasn't there some myth about a king with purple hair? One that actually existed, and hadn't been erased form time? Tulais might've easily been related to him- and therefore Archie would too. If Archie could trace that family as far 'down' as he possibly could, then he might be able to find out when Tulais was born, discover if he really was a (direct?) descendant, and then present his evidence to the gods.

Then, if he was a direct descendant of a demon… why had he been drafted to be on the 'Team'? There had to be plenty other heroes, or even other descendants of Achilles around. The world had, what, something like six million people? There HAD to be other descendants of Achilles, so why take someone who was a direct descendant of an… evil demon.

Was Archie evil? He did notice he liked battles and fights a lot more than the others, and he did tend to be a bit more aggressive than they did. So was he a threat to the others? Or maybe the gods brought him because he was a benefit to the group because he was so aggressive? He had noticed that the gods had never really like him, been especially cold (save for Chiron) after his dreams the other day, and no doubt they had known all along that he was a descendant of Tulais. Well, Hera at least had known for sure. But why had she never told him? He wasn't going to attack anyone, nothing like what Tulais had done to him.

He felt the familiar flare of anger in his gut now that he knew that Hera had been keeping secrets from him, from all of them. And then she was also hiding the rest of the prophecy Archie wasn't as sure on that fact as he was on the idea that he too was a demon, but he had a pretty good feeling. Suddenly, it didn't seem like he could trust any of the immortals, they all seemed to turn on you.

Archie leapt to his feet and went back to the mythology section of the library, not caring about being recognized this time. He grabbed numerous books off the shelves and then carried them to a table by a window and began flipping through many of them, looking for one story in particular.

There! He traced his finger over the information given about the king.

Nisus was the King of Megara, and he had a loch of purple hair on his head. If he cut it off, he would lose his throne. When he was under siege, he did not worry, but his daughter, Scylla, (hopefully no relation to the monster they had fought some time ago, Archie shuddered at the thought) fell in love with his enemy and cut the hair form his head while he slept. Nisus died, but was changed into a bird and Scylla killed herself later on.

Tragic story Archie thought to himself. He flipped open another book, hoping for a more detailed version of the story.

In fact, he went through all the books but didn't find a single thing about Tulais. Why? Surely there had to be SOMETHING mentioning that Nisus had a missing son, or another relative that might've had a son with purple hair, or anything like that!

Wait… what had Hera said, earlier? Tulais had been erased form the history of mankind! There wouldn't be any recordings of him in these books anyways! He needed to find something though…. Archie was still stiff and sore from yesterday and his head was still a little tender. He didn't feel like talking to any of the gods really, but especially Hera. He knew himself too well to understand that he'd 'fight' Hera to the point where she'd probably kill him, ban him from history, or send him away from new Olympia forever since he was very, very annoyed by the fact that she'd been hiding such important secrets from him.

Chiron's room! Chiron had a record of every beast in history, and he was immortal, so that meant he'd have a record of Tulais! Archie got up and slowly put the books back on the selves as he thought out his plan.

He'd sneak into the gods half of the school, and without being seen, he'd get into the library there and try to find something of any use., If that didn't work, he go talk to Chiron about having another headache, which wasn't entirely false, but he wouldn't take ANY Advil (he greatly discouraged fast-relief medicine now) and after getting the medication, he'd inquire about Tulais and wander over and open the book and look for any information. Chiron wouldn't get upset with him if he were only curious.

Taking a deep breath, Archie left his homework in the library and quickly strode out of the large room and down the halls, headed for the janitors' closet.

He looked around worriedly and, taking the necklace from around his neck, placed the medallion in the strange keyhole, and it fit perfectly. He closed the door behind him and pulled the strong for the light to come on, opening the portal to the gods' realm. He quickly entered and snuck through the large, open areas, making sure no one saw him. He was lucky and all the gods seemed to be busy doing other things, so he made it undetected.

He found many books in the library and decided there was no point in going to Chiron's room. Gathering the books he hoped would be useful in his arms; Archie stood up and headed for the door. He wasn't sure why he was feeling so jumpy all of a sudden, like some unseen enemy was constantly watching him and waiting to pounce down and kill him.

He was just closing the door behind himself when he heard voices, looking around quickly, Archie panicked as he looked for a hiding place. He didn't want to be caught, not without a good excuse! Why hadn't he thought one up beforehand? He ducked behind one of the pillars supporting the second floor/balcony/roof in the large room. Looking around the corner, he saw Hera and Ares talking together on a short walk, both looking very serious.

"You have to stop training him so well. Any better and he actually will stand a chance at defeating some of us!" Hera said sharply.

Ares nodded slowly, "But he is a good student, besides being a Demonspawn. Learns well, acts fast and has a natural talent for battles…"

Demonspawn? That meant they were talking about HIM!

"And that's because he is a Demon! You remember his other name, don't you?" Hera hissed.

Ares paled and nodded, "Yes, mother, I do."

Archie's eyebrows shot up. Ares was referring to Hera as 'mother'? Well, she WAS his mother, but he'd never heard that before. He looked like a scared, little child- mortal child!

"So is that clear, Ares. Archie must not be getting any further training, but we have to keep him occupied. I fear he is already growing suspicious… and no doubt Tulais is putting lies into his head. Mortals will believe anything they hear, and Archie is no exception. That Demonspawn will be better off once he's dead!"

Archie nearly dropped all the books he was carrying right then. He choked on something that had magically gotten stuck in his throat, but was thankful when he made no sound. The gods wanted to KILL him? But without him- the prophecy couldn't be completed!

THAT was why they were putting up with him; Archie realized suddenly, that was the only reason why he was still around. It was all because they just needed him to get rid of Cronus, and then they'd most likely get rid of him.

Was that why he had been brought here in the first place? So they could keep a close watch on him? He clamped a hand over his mouth to keep from gagging. His heart was racing and his blood, in reaction to his fear, was beginning to boil. This was all because of Tulais! Just because his ancestor was a demon, it didn't mean he was as well! Was he going to be doomed to die so soon just because of his ancestor? It wasn't fair! It wasn't FAIR!

He heard Ares and Hera stop talking.

"Someone's here," Ares mumbled.

Archie stopped breathing and straightened against the pillar, not moving a muscle. But he was sure his heart hammering against his chest was giving him away, even a deaf man could've heard it!

"Who's there?" Hera called. He didn't reply. Instead, he shut his eyes tight and waited for them to decide to investigate, find him, and then kill him right there. But the complete opposite happened.

"I guess you're hearing things, Ares. No one would be there anyways and if they had, they would've answered me. Now, get back to whatever it is that I took you away from."

Archie nearly breathed out a sigh of relief as he heard Her and Ares walk away. He waited for a few more minutes, then dashed for the portal and left the school as quickly as he could. He ran all the way back to the dorm, thankful that Athena wasn't there, and raced to his room. His legs were shaking so badly that when he finally stopped, closing his door, they collapsed on him and he tumbled to the ground.

Shaking uncontrollably, Archie pulled himself up enough to get crawl over to his bed, but was unable to pull himself up any further. He pulled the blanket off the bed enough to cover his trembling frame and curled up on the ground.

So that was his future. He was to die after saving the world. What would the gods tell his friends? How would they explain that?

Archie was still quivering even as all normal trains of thought left him, and his eyes finally closed, exhausted form the sudden amount of new information he'd received. Small droplets of salty tears gathered in the corners of his eyes at the pure shock of it all, and he was incapable of absorbing any of it. Archie fought not to cry, he wasn't weak enough to cry, but he accidentally let a few tears escape and his breathing hitched every-so-slightly.

So, curled up on the ground, shaking and sobbing, Archie fell asleep with the books from the library lying around him.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Good lord… can Archie's life get any better? Or is it just going to get worse?

I'm sorry for the late update, but, you know, exams and all (bleh)

And so the tale of Nisus can be defined with him having a golden loch of hair (as I've found in most cases) but in some others, like in my book, he has purple. For this story, it works best if he has purple, for obvious reasons.

And no, his daughter Scylla is NOT the monster, but she actually does 'exist'.

Review and I promise I'll try to update sometime next week for sure!

One question I have, is how you guys like Tulais? I know we haven't seen much of him right now, and that's because I don't want him to become a main character, but he is fairly important all throughout DWM and the sequel.

I know, for one, I try to avoid using 'home-made' characters in my fanfictions, and so I was wondering just how much you guys like Tulais (right now, at least) I'll ask again later when we do get to know Tulais more.

Demenior


	14. Inner Turmoil

Demons Within Me

Disclaimer: See previous Chapters.

Warnings: Sexy shirtless Archie oogles and it appears Atlanta's inner girl has awoken and so now she has a 'second opinion' on things… and I have the strangest feeling that Archie and Atlanta went WAY out-of-character on me.

Pairings: same as always

Authors Note: My goodness, guys! I HAVE OVER 100 REVIEWS! This is all thanks to you, and in the celebration, I've typed up and am going to post TWO new chapters. Thank you so much, everyone, thanks for sticking with me, critiquing my work, giving ideas/thoughts/suggestions, reviewing and even just reading this story. This is still going on thanks to you guys out there who are still reading my useless junk! Thank you SO MUCH! I LOVE YOU!

Chapter 14: Inner Turmoil

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Atlanta walked out of gym class, feeling stiff and sore now that Chiron's pain-killers were wearing off on her and the mild cuts across her front were now starting to ache again. She couldn't even imagine how Herry was coping with his big cuts, but then again, Herry was a tough guy. Then, worried slightly, she wondered how Archie was. He had been fairly torn up by Tulais, but Chiron had managed to 'pop' his dislocated shoulder back into place and gave him extra-strong pain-killers so he should be feeling… okay about now.

Atlanta picked up her feet and went to Archie's last class of the day, English. She, and all the others, knew that he secretly loved reading, even if he tried to hide it form them a lot, and so he'd probably still be in the back of the class, reading. She giggled slightly at the thought and peeked into the room. A little surprised, she found that his desk was empty. He must already be at the truck with everyone else, waiting for her.

As she neared Herry's big, repaired truck, she realized that Archie wasn't with them. Everyone else seemed to have their mullet-haired friend on their minds as well since Atlanta noticed the surprised looks on their faces when they saw that Archie wasn't with her.

Jay opened his mouth to speak but Atlanta answered before he could, "I don't know. I thought he was here with you guys."

"Is he still reading again?" Theresa snickered.

Herry unlocked the door, having just jogged up with Odie at his side, "Actually, I didn't see him in math today. Maybe he got really 'sick' and went home? You know, after yesterday and all…"

Everyone looked around, a tad edgy, before Jay spoke up, "Yeah, Herry's right. Besides, if Archie is just wandering the school or something, he's late. He can just find his way home," their leader added with a forced laugh. Everyone else snickered lifelessly as well. They were all thinking back to yesterday when Archie had gone off on his own.

"C'mon, I want to get home. I need a shower," Neil sighed, trying to brush down a loop of hair that just didn't seem to want to co-operate and stuck up like a tail.

"Yeah, he's probably at home, and he'll… he'll be fine if he has to walk," Atlanta said after a moment, "lets jus get home."

As they all loaded into the truck, Herry spoke up, "You know, guys, while I was visiting Granny during lunch today, she asked if we could take some of her furniture for a few days, since she's getting the den repainted. It's not much- only a table, a chair or two and her foosball table. Would that be alright?"

Jay grinned, "Sure, I love foosball and I'm pretty good at it."

Herry raised an eyebrow, "Oh, really? Well I am the champ from where I come from, so let's have a game. You versus me, and we'll se who's better."

Jay nodded, "Deal."

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Archie awoke with a groan, immediately feeing a sharp pain all over, but more directly form his shoulder and arm that Tulais had used to drag him with in the first place. His head was sore and he felt hot. Pushing the blanket off of himself, he sat up slowly, using his not-as-sore arm, but it was asleep and he nearly fell over again.

Well, the reason that he was overheated probably had to do with the fact that he was in a sweater, had just been curled up in a blanket and it was quite a warm, sunny day outside.

He tried to pull the sweater off, but it hurt, a lot. He sighed with a slight grimace, and tried to push past it thinking 'I've been hurt worse than this' and trying to think of a time where he'd felt more pain. But the only memory that came to mind was back when he'd first hurt his ankle all those years ago…

No! Archie jerked himself out of this thoughts, he didn't need to remember that right now. He waited a moment as he realized his heartbeat had increased from just brushing against that old, fearful memory.

Well, now I have pain for future references. Once I get this sweater off

Archie gritted his teeth in pain and managed to pull the sweater off. He hissed as he felt a wave of pain spread over his body, emitted from his shoulder which was still bandaged up. While recovering from that wave of pain, he managed to get his white under-shirt off. Biting his lip in an attempt not to cry out in pain, Archie leaned back against his bed and took in a slow breath.

He was able to get to his feet well enough, and tried to look at his shoulder, but he could tell that he needed a mirror already. Pushing himself to his feet, he stumbled into the bathroom down the hall and slowly, painfully, stripped off the bandages and winced at the big blue, purple, yellow and black bruise completely covering his shoulder. There were multiple bruises on his chest, and turning around, he groaned as he saw numerous more bruises covering his back.

Wait a second- bruises? Shouldn't there be CUTS or PUNCTURE marks in his skin? People didn't heal that fast! Then again, Tulais hadn't bit him all that hard, save for his shoulder where, thankfully/no-so-happily he could still see the large bite he had received from the Demon.

No human on earth could heal that quick- Archie cut himself off in midthought. People, HUMANS, didn't heal this fast… but maybe… DEMONS did. He'd try to find that in the books he'd gotten from the library once he bandaged up his arm again.

The library. Archie stopped and looked in the mirror. Did he really look like a demon? Was he really so dangerous that he was supposed to be killed? Right now… he only looked like some scrawny, pale kid covered in bruises who looked like maybe he was TOO skinny. His shoulders were slumped and his eyes were still a little red from his despaired sobbing earlier.

Why would the gods have anything to fear from him? Why would they want to KILL him? WHY? Archie turned on the tap and splashed some cold water onto his face and tried to forget. There wasn't much he could do about it right now. To challenge the gods upfront would be suicidal, and to just pretend he'd never heard Hera and Ares talking would mean his death. He'd have to come up with a plan, but not when he started freaking out like this every time he thought of it. He'd get nowhere if he tried.

Archie pulled out the extra gauze and antibiotic cream, then decided he didn't need the cream and out it away. Slowly, just ever-so-slowly, and gently, he wrapped up his shoulder as best he could with one hand, wincing every time he irritated the bruise/cut. He had just finished putting everything away when he heard the door open…

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

They had taken a little longer than usual since the gang had decided just to drop by and grab the items they would be 'looking after' while Granny's den was being painted. Now, they had a de-assembled foosball game among them, a chair, a little coffee table and a rug or two. There was a couch and two chairs in the trunk space.

Herry parked the truck in front of their brownstone and they all hopped out, carrying all that they could into the house. Herry carried in the couch on his own, while Theresa and Jay then managed to carry in one of the chairs.

They left everything in the living room and Atlanta quickly ran upstairs, hearing the water running.

"Archie?" she called worriedly.

He stepped out of the bathroom and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and then looked up at her with a more-or-less forced grin, "Yeah?"

"Where have you been?" she cried, relieved.

"You weren't at school," Jay said more as a question than a statement as he steppe dup beside Atlanta, mentally he cringed at the hints of a large bruise under the wrappings on Archie's shoulder and the numerous ugly splotches along his torso.

"I got sick," he mumbled with a shrug, "so I came home."

"How early? You weren't in math, and that was second period." Herry said, coming in from the living room.

Everyone's eyes widened, SECOND period? They had assumed math was more like… fourth period, or even just after lunch! Archie had left that early?

"If you are that 'sick' then why'd you go in the first place?' Theresa demanded, shocked at the inference that Archie would skip school.

Archie shrugged again, nervous as he was half-naked and under six unwavering gazes, "I thought I'd be okay. Sorry," he muttered quietly and turned to leave.

"Don't just walk, Archie," Jay said in his serious tone, "you just told us you were so sick that you had to skip an entire day of school, without telling us, and right now you look perfectly fine to me! I understand if you at least would LIKE to have a day off, but don't trick us by making us think you're going to school to go to classes- not going and then leaving somewhere else!"

Archie flinched at Jay's words.

"SO what do you have to say for yourself," the Leader finally demanded.

Archie opened his mouth to speak but closed it immediately. If he said he'd gone to the library, Jay would want to know what book was so important that he couldn't just sign it out and go to class, and Archie had a feeling that if he even started talking about ANY library he was going to start shaking and crying and blurt out the whole story about what he had heard Her and Ares saying about him. But they wouldn't understand, he realized, he couldn't share this with anyone because they all trusted the gods. What was he going to say?

No, Archie didn't have to make up excuses to please Jay! How DARE Jay think he could just stroll up to him and command to know every itty-bitty detail of what Archie had done that day. That was none of Jay's business!

"I skipped school. I won't go tomorrow if I'm not feeling well. Is that good enough for you?" he spat angrily, startling the others with his sudden outburst.

Jay seemed to have lost his voice, as had everyone else, at the fact that the 'sick' boy had just snapped at them with nearly the same intensity that Tulais had the day before. And it was only Odie who noticed something strange as Archie walked away, the limp on his heel more obvious showing that he was tired, but Archie had no cuts on his body…

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"I got sick, so I came home."

Those were the last words Atlanta heard as she found herself, admittedly, checking out her best boy-friend's body.

Though speckled with large bruises, Archie still had his in-serious-need-of-a-tan pale skin covering his entire body, a very faint tan-line at his neck and wrists thanks to his hoodie. He was quite thin, almost to a point where it seemed unnatural, but she knew that he wouldn't be the same 'gangly' Archie if he wasn't so toothpick-like. But even though he was thin, it was easy to see the strong, fairly-developed muscles under his skin. She had to admit, if he wore clothes that did more for his body, he'd probably get more dates and could possibly even turn her head once or twice- not that she'd ever admit that. Thanks to their little rounds of comparing scars, she could pick out all the pink marks on his smooth skin, but it didn't seem that he had much else to disfigure his figure, other than the bruises—

"I skipped school. I won't go tomorrow if I'm not feeling well. Is that good enough for you?" Archie suddenly spat in their direction. Seeing as no one replied, he turned and stormed off to his room, slamming the door shut.

Atlanta blinked as she realized what had happened… she had completely spaced out staring at Archie! She felt her cheeks flush and quickly squeaked out something like 'I need the bathroom!' and rushed into the small room and closed the door swiftly behind herself before anyone could see her red-streaked face.

"No, Atlanta, no! You are NOT falling for Archie! Archie is NOT attractive! You need to STOP being such a creep and hanging around with him all the time and actually act like a GIRL!" she hissed to herself, in fear someone might be listening on the other side of the door.

And maybe if you act more like a girl, Archie might even ask you out dearie! A giddy voice popped up inside her mind. Where had THAT come from? Was that the inner girl she had tried so hard to suppress?

I mean, if you haven't noticed, honey, he only seems to be romantically attracted to GIRLS. Not girls who are pretending to be guys, like you hon, but girls who act how girls should act!

Atlanta winced at the harsh tone, than calmly replied.

But Archie doesn't act around Girl-girls like he does around me. He… he acts normally around me, not macho and manly like he does for other girls. I don't want him doing that to me… he just acts like an idiot.

But he only treats you how any other guy would treat another guy! Face it, Atlanta, unless you change, you'll never get his attention!

"I'll talk to Theresa," Atlanta finally murmured, barely moving her lips.

She checked herself over in the mirror to make sure her inner turmoil wasn't showing up on her face, and gathered up her books and left the bathroom, heading right for Theresa's room.

The said redhead was brushing her hair back into a ponytail, sitting comfortably on her large bed.

"H-hey, Teresa," Atlanta stammered nervously.

Theresa looked up, slightly surprised, and then noticed the faint blush on Atlanta's cheeks and grinned, "Do you have another crush again? Hopefully he isn't another bad boy, eh?" She was referring to Pan, who, Atlanta hated to admit, still held a small sliver of her heart.

"N-No!" Atlanta spat out too quickly, "I was just wondering i-if you could, show me how to use like, some eye shadow or something 'cause me and Archie were going to go out and…" she trailed off, wondering if Archie would even want to speak to her after his seething remark earlier.

Theresa nearly went into a fit of giggles, "You and ARCHIE? Finally? You're going on a DATE?" Atlanta's eyes widened at her friends assumption.

"No! Nothing like that! We're just going to refund my tickets for the circus tonight… would you want to come?" she asked hopefully.

Theresa sighed, blowing some hair out of her eyes, "I'd like to, but I have to go see Persephone. She said something along the lines of 'it's time for something new'. So I have to go, probably for more training, sorry."

Atlanta nodded, "That's alright."

Theresa smirked, "Now, how about some eye shadow?"

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

So there, the next chapter

If you guys are good and review this and the next chapter, I promise the next chapter will be out soon. I'm sorry about the long wait and my hand I cramped beyond ever repairing again after typing twelve pages (on Microsoft Word document) in like two hours… ouch… I feel pain…

Review please!

Demenior


	15. Not a DATE Date

Demons Within me

Disclaimer: see previous chapters

Warnings: …Archie and Atlanta are slightly out-of-character

Authors Note: …my hands hurt too much to type one….

CHAPTER 15: Not A DATE-Date

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

It seemed like Archie had just gotten back into his room and was flipping trough a book to try and find ANYTHING about Tulais, when someone knocked on his door.

"What do you want?" he snarled.

"It's me," came the calmer, almost timid reply.

Archie felt his heart leap into his throat as he realized he'd just snapped at Atlanta and that he'd promised to go out and exchange those tickets for the circus with her. He took one last look at his books before hopping up, ignoring the throb of protest form his shoulder, and opened the door in a matter of steps.

Something about her seemed different… was she wearing make-up? Usually Archie would never associate Atlanta with the stuff, but she was wearing just enough to accent her eyes in a way that made everything that had just happened to him seem like some sort of far-off dream.

"Tickets, right? Just let me get on a shirt," he said, feeling quite calm after looking into her green-brown eyes.

The pain wasn't as great, but still there, as he struggled to get on his white shirt. Looking around for his hoodie, he remembered that he'd given it to the redhead standing outside his door.

"Atlanta, do you still have my sweater?" he asked.

Archie noticed that she seemed to almost panic for a moment before replying, "No, it was all ripped and dirty. I threw it out after I got changed. I hope that's alright?" That wasn't really true, she was planning on getting it washed when no one was around, but currently it was in the back of her closet where no one would ever find it.

Archie sighed, "Yeah, its fine, but now you owe me a new hoodie." He grinned, letting her know it really was okay. She grinned back.

Both of them were wondering why they were feeling so tense all of a sudden. They'd gone out for weekends, spent long days running around the town on skateboards or just running, they'd fought monsters side-by-side as if they'd been fighting for hundreds of years together. Why was one little date proving to be so difficult? Except it wasn't a DATE-date, they weren't dating. They were only friends.

"Okay, we can drop by the Second-Hand store on our way back form the ticket booth," she teased.

Archie pretended to look surprised as he walked out of the room and followed her down the hall, "You have enough money for a Second-Hand store? Now that's luxury! I was thinking abut the dump," he smiled.

She laughed as they headed out the door, Archie paused to grab the keys to the motorcycle Ares had given him after the 3rd time he'd been late for early-morning training. It had come in handy, like during the mission where he'd released the Seifer Virus and had needed to get down to the reserve ware with Hope and the spear right away.

Atlanta had grabbed the helmets on her way out and tossed him his. They both got on, Atlanta in the back since Archie always drove his bike. This time though, it did feel a tad awkward as Atlanta wrapped her arms around his waist, she seemed to notice as well since her grip was very light and almost unnoticeable.

"R-ready?" he called over his shoulder.

"Yeah!" she replied as confidently as she could. Archie revved the gas and kicked off the ground, gaining speed as he swerved into the lighter traffic.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"So who wants to help me set this up?" Herry announced as he dumped the parts for the foosball table in the corner of the living room. Jay jumped up immediately.

"I will, since the sooner we set up, the sooner I can defeat you!" he said in a mock serious tone. Odie and Neil pitched in, Theresa stopped for a moment to say bye before she left for the school, and whispered something into Jay's ear, causing him to make a shocked face, and then she laughed and left.

Jay turned back to find three pairs of eyes on him as Herry, Odie and Neil all waited to hear what he had to say. He smiled and shrugged,

"She said that Archie and Atlanta are finally going out on a date- as well as a 'real' date later tonight at the circus."

"Go Archie!" Herry laughed.

"I bet SHE asked HIM out!" Neil snorted he was laughing so hard.

"I can't wait to hear how this one goes," Herry nodded.

An unconscious glance passed between the descendants of Jason and Odysseus. They hadn't forgotten how oddly Archie had been behaving in the past few days. Odie nodded his head back to the foosball pieces, deciding to keep his discovery of Archie's speed-healing a secret until he had a reason how Archie could do that.

Upon not having any instructions, it took the guys a long, long time before the game was finally set up—in working order.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"One burger and fries and a coke and a pepsi, thanks," Archie ordered.

He and Atlanta had just refunded the tickets, and apparently they'd gotten four so that meant two others could come with them to the 'Circus of the Impossible'. They were at their favorite fast-food restaurant, since Archie needed to 'make it up' to Atlanta for the fight. They were going to the mall to buy him another hoodie after.

He carried the tray back to their table and sat down, Atlanta immediately grabbing a french-fry and eating it quickly. Sometimes, when he wasn't feeling too hungry, Archie would just sit and enjoy himself by watching her eat. Just plain hanging out with her was fun enough. But not right now, he hadn't eaten all day and, despite the circumstances, he was starving. He grabbed a handful of fries and ate them in one gulp.

"Hey!" she pretended to sound offended, "those are mine!"

"I bought them," he managed to say through his mouthful of potato.

She laughed and took a sip of her coke, then made a face. Archie raised an eyebrow, but then she reached over and grabbed his pepsi and took a big sip.

"Hey! That's mine!" he cried, not realizing they were starting the same conversation over again.

She made another face, "I can't tell which is my coke and which is your pepsi!"

Then, while Archie watched helplessly, she took another sip from both cups.

"Nope," she muttered, "I STILL can't tell."

As she took another sip, Archie finally realized she was teasing him. He planned a course of action so as she set the cups down to take a drink; he grabbed her burger away from her.

"Archie!" she protested.

He took a big bite out of the burger, savoring the taste just to annoy her more.

"Sorry, 'Lan, it looks like they got your burger mixed up as well. Guess I'll have to eat it all myself," he pretended to look upset at that fact. Just to annoy her more, he took another bite, this one smaller since he wasn't feeling as hungry anymore, and then suddenly she grabbed it back from his hands. Before he could protest, she took a big bite as well and glared at him with mock anger as she chewed.

"You're right! This… this burger isn't what I usually have- it's better!" she laughed and Archie found himself laughing with her. She took another bite of the burger and then split it in half and gave on half to him, the other she kept for herself.

They were getting back on the motorcycle, not as awkward anymore, when Atlanta finally said, "Why don't we ever just buy TWO hamburgers?" and they both ended up laughing as Archie pulled out of the parking lot.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"How's this one?" Archie asked, holding up a huge sweater that might fit a family of five.

"So you," Atlanta nodded sarcastically.

They were now at the mall, almost on their way back to the brownstone to pick up two other companions for a trip to the circus. All they had to do was get serious for once and actually get to work.

Archie finally selected a hoodie that was the exact size, brand and color as his old one. Atlanta nearly started laughing when he insisted that that was the one he wanted, and no other variety. So she ended up buying it- at a fairly good price she might add.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Hurry up you fools!" Cronus cried in annoyance.

He had finally located the alleged nest of the fierce Stymphalian Birds, but his stupid giants would have to dig them out first… and that was going to take all day it seem at this rate.

The giants heaved and dug their pick-axes deeper into the hard earth, then stopped when they heard a strange sound.

Cronus grinned as he heard the high-pitched shriek that was oh so original to the Stymphalion Bird alone. Once he released it on those stupid brats, he was positive there was no possible way to stop them from tearing those little teenagers apart one-by-one.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Tulais sniffed along the ground, wondering where he could head the Brat off and question him. To learn what was really going on in this time and age.

He slipped through his undergrowth with unnatural ease for his large bulk, and then stopped as he caught a familiar scent, mixed with something terribly disgusting.

Curiosity got the better of him and he dropped into a low crouch and slipped through the woods and spotted a number of large beasts, giants, digging away at the ground. Standing nearby, in the shade, was Cronus.

Tulais growled and felt the hackles along his spine begin to stand up, but no. He couldn't attack yet, not until he talked to the Brat and understood everything that was happening right now.

"Once you've broken through to the birds below, we will need to lure those seven brats here to meet their doom! But they won't be coming in the MIDDLE of the NIGHT!" Cronus roared impatiently.

Seven brats? Tulais' ears perked up. He had fought four children while trying to take the Brat away from them. And there had been the fairly strong scent of Odysseus and a Narcissus flower on the four he had fought. That would make Seven.

So was Cronus' Seven the same Seven he, Tulais, was looking for? Tulais figured there was a pretty good chance of that being true and so he decided to lie in wait in the undergrowth.

The city had been far too hectic for his taste anyways, and that huge monster-machine thing had scared him more than he liked to admit.

Tulais rested his head on his paws and watched, until slowly he drifted off to sleep while the giants toiled away in front of him.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Wow, so there you go… my hand hurts too much to point anything out, but can anyone see what episode this is leading up to?

Review please!

Demenior


	16. Cronus's Flying Circus Part 1

Demons Within Me

Disclaimer: see previous chapters

Warnings: Violence, a little bit of blood, and a terribly mutilated version of a wonderful episode

Pairings: same as always

Author's Note: Wow… I'm at 16 chapters… uh oh, looks like we may be talking about more than 20 chapters here 0.0

Also, I've finally gotten around to posting my drawing of Tulais: http/ you think you could do better/want to try drawing him or any scene from this story, go right ahead and make sure to give me the link. I want to see it! ;)

Chapter 16: Cronus's Flying Circus- Part 1

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Herry leapt back and whooped loudly, flinging his green shirt above his head and spinning it while he cheered for himself. Jay sighed dejectedly; Herry had beaten him at foosball… for the fifth time in a row.

Odie was looking up some information on his laptop, while Neil was reading a magazine on the couch.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Archie and Atlanta came rushing in, obviously in some sort of race to get into the living room first.

"We have two extra tickets to the circus!" Archie explained in one breath.

"Who wants to go?" Atlanta finished.

Jay paused, looking at Archie. He knew that the other had a huge crush on Atlanta and usually got in a better mood when he was around her, but something still didn't seem right. He could almost swear that Archie's smile was forced.

Odie, who had turned in the armchair to look at the two, caught Jay's eye. Jay could immediately tell that the younger wanted him to stay behind. Something important. Maybe, it had something to do with Archie's odd behavior as of late.

"Well, could Theresa and I come?" Neil suggested. Jay shot the blonde an astonished look. How DARE he even think of trying to get near HIS Theresa? Neil noticed the glare and gave Jay a cocky smirk in response. Jay understood it well enough to know that Neil still considered Theresa as fair game, since she still didn't have an 'official' boyfriend, and no one had gotten up enough guts to ask her.

"Nah, she said she'd be gone pretty much all night," Herry said, pulling his shirt back on.

Neil huffed disappointedly and avoided looking at Jay's triumphant smile, "What the hey, I'll still go."

Archie and Atlanta looked at Jay. For a moment, Jay was caught staring at Archie. Achilles' descendant was hiding something, something that he wasn't going to tell them without it having to be forced out. Archie could tell this, Jay knew, and he was fighting Jay's power. The two glared at each other for what seemed like quite a while before Atlanta broke the strained silence.

"Jay… you, uh, going to wait for Therri?" she asked, using the pet/nick name she, Jay and Neil used on Theresa from time-to-time.

Jay nodded slowly, turning away from Archie's gaze as the other did the same.

Herry smirked, "Alright, I'll drive. Let's go!"

There was a round of cheers, Jay noticed that Archie had his 'happy mask' on again, and briefly wondered why no one else seemed to see it. Maybe it was because he was a leader, or maybe it was what Hera had warned him a long time ago when he'd first met Archie.

Look out for that one. He'll be the first to change sides if it looks beneficial to him, Jay. There's one in every bunch. Always be on your guard and NEVER trust his type with your life, or of those you care about…

Hera always knew what was best for the team. Jay trusted her word like it was life, since he didn't know what to do half the time. Hera had much more experience and even knew his ancestor.

He had never been a suck-up, and still wasn't. But he knew he could trust Hera, no matter what. She'd never turn on them or scorn them the way some of the other gods had, the way people do, and so he'd kept Hera's words in his mind and had always watched himself around Archie. Never once had he ever really seen any indication that Archie would be a traitor, and he really even enjoyed Archie's company from time to time, but he trusted Hera too much to let his guard down too far.

Odie remained in the armchair until they heard the truck rolling out of the driveway and into the street until the sound faded into the distance. Then he turned to look at his leader with a serious expression on his face.

"Jay… I think there's a lot we need to discuss. I've been doing a lot of research on stuff," by that he meant what was happening with Archie, "and I think we need to consult Hera on this one."

"How bad is it?" Jay asked after a moment.

Odie looked from Jay, back to the screen on his laptop, and then back to Jay, "Very." He finally replied.

Jay opened his mouth to ask why, but Odie cut him off.

"And if I'm correct, we might finally understand what's been happening with Archie lately."

"Why? What are you leading up to with this Odie?" Jay sighed, not liking how Odie was skipping around the point.

Odie took off his newly-fixed, trademark green-tinted glasses and looked at Jay with serious, brown eyes.

"Tulais."

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Atlanta sprang up the steps, skidding on the bench and flopping into her seat. Archie repeated the move, but skidded too far and ended up pressed against Atlanta, almost on top of her. They both blushed and looked at each other, frozen for a brief moment.

Neil happened to catch this as he sat in his seat, snickered, and elbowed Herry in the gut. Herry was eating popcorn at the time and nearly spat it all out onto everyone in that row when Neil elbowed him, but managed to see what the blonde was grinning at. He couldn't help but smile a popcorn-filled smile at the sight of Archie and Atlanta, basically nose-to-nose, just staring into each others eyes.

Even he, Herry, who was the 'most dense' out of the entire group, could see that Archie and Atlanta had secret crushes on each other. The best part about the secret crushes, was watching the two interact without ever realizing how the other felt about them. This was such a moment. The title of 'most dense' should really go to those two.

The lights dimmed suddenly, and Archie and Atlanta were pulled away from each others' eyes, pretending to be more focused on the stage. But they were taking small glances at each other, noticing that while the other had diverted their eyes to the stage, they still hadn't moved away from their close-to-each-other position.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Tulais' eyes snapped open as he heard a high, wailing screech coming form the hole the giants had been digging in earlier that day. He was somewhat surprised to see that they had dug a deep enough hole that it opened to a dark cavern down below.

He yawned, showing his yellowed fangs, and stretched his clawed paws out in front of him before tucking them under his body again. He would still have to wait, it seemed, before the Brat and his friends arrived.

He was about to go back to sleep when another sound made his ears perk up. He lifted his head again to see Cronus standing at the lip of the hole. There were now three giants behind him, pulling at a taut rope. As whatever was on the end of the rope came closer to the opening of the hole, Tulais felt his fur bristle as he saw a huge bird, larger than he was, covered in bronze-plated feathers. The bird cried out again in its loud, wailing screech. The sound made Tulais flinch and his ears folded back against his head as he snarled in annoyance.

The giants pulled out a second bird, still bronze-plated, and set it alongside the first. Both were wrapping in tight nets. Cronus opened a portal in front of them and the giants dragged the birds through and then disappeared.

"Hurry, you bumbling idiots, we have to get to that stupid circus before those brats leave!" Cronus snarled as the giants struggled to contain the birds. But finally they were gone. Tulais sighed in relief, that noise had not been easy on his sensitive ears, and lowered his head down as he waited once again.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Neil, Herry, Atlanta and Archie slowly made their way out of the dark circus tent. They weren't discussing the show; none of them had really watched it. Archie and Atlanta had gotten into a little wrestle with their legs while the show had been going on, both blushing in the convenient darkness. Neil and Herry had amused themselves to no end watching the pair.

"So, let's head back. Unless you guys wanna go out and grab something to eat?" Herry suggested hopefully.

Neil laughed, "No thanks, I ate too much popcorn as it is!" he pretended to be doubled over with a sore stomach as he headed towards the truck.

Atlanta shook her head, "Thanks anyways, but I've already eaten out with him," she jerked her thumb in Archie's direction, "but then again, he ate half of the meal… so I guess I'm a little hungry."

"Not to mention SOMEONE hogged all the popcorn," Archie smirked, eyeing Herry with mock-anger.

Herry chuckled, "Fine. We'll get a LITTLE something to eat, since not all of us are hungry. But I'm starving!"

"Hey Neil!" the strong one turned to inform the blonde of their plans, but was interrupted by a scream.

"What on earth?" all three teens cried.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"What does Tulais have to do with the way Archie's been acting?" Jay seated himself on the couch, facing Odie.

"Remember how, when we were told about Tulais, Archie was in a council because he'd had 'strange dreams' regarding Tulais…"

"Yeah, we all had to wake up to Atlanta leaping on our beds and shouting in our ears," Jay shrugged.

"We've all had weird dreams… but how did Archie come to know of Tulais? Why is it that Tulais went after him- but didn't hurt him as much as he could have?"

"Odie just spit it out. I hate how you're dodging the point here!" Jay snapped, still feeling irritated from Archie's glare earlier.

Odie sighed, "I don't have all the evidence right now. So I don't want to tell you what I'm thinking, so that I don't change your view of Archie without reason. I want you to draw your own conclusions first. That's what I wanted to tell you."

Jay raised an eyebrow, "That's all?" he let out a very not-amused sigh, "that's what you've been keeping me hung up on? Just that I should be doing what I'm doing- watching MY team for any sign of fault? Thanks, Odie, that was a lot of help--"

Suddenly their PMR's began beeping loudly. Jay flipped his open first and saw Herry's face on the screen.

"Jay! Jay! Neil's been kidnapped by these bird things! We need you here right away! Hurry- he's in BIG trouble!" Herry cried, obviously in a bit of a panic.

"Don't worry, we're on our way!" Jay informed him. He looked up to greet Odie's still-serious gaze, and they both silently agreed to put this conversation aside for now. Because as of this moment, their teammate needed them more than finishing this conversation did. They dashed to the door and took Odie's moped to the school where they jump-shifted to Theresa's car and the three heroes drove straight to the circus.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Tulais groggily opened one red eye as he heard screaming.

He sighed and opened the other, watching interestedly as those stupid, annoying birds returned, but this time they had a child with them. He was kicking and screaming for help. Tulais nearly shrugged it off, until he caught the boy's scent. It was the exact same that had been joined with those other kids he had fought the other day! That meant the Brat and his gang would be coming soon.

He got to his feet and stretched out again, feeling much more refreshed after the long nap. He sat on his haunches as he felt a spark of pain in his side where that giant machine that carried the mixed-scented heroes had attacked him, but it had healed up quite well. As all wounds inflicted upon him did, since he was immortal and a demon.

Looking over his shoulder, he gave his side a tentative lick and felt more satisfied when it didn't hurt. It also seemed that the wounds were basically closed, just don't overdue it in any fight and he'd be alright.

Tulais stood up and shook himself free of any lingering fatigue. His ears perked up as he heard the loud rumble of the monster-machine that strong boy commanded. He almost smiled as he saw the Brat get out… along with HER.

He felt a flurry of mixed emotions as he saw Atalanta again. He still felt the stirring of longing, to want to love her and be loved by her in return. But he also felt the hot, rich hate that circulated through his veins. He was upset, seeing her and knowing how much he had lost because of her. But all those feelings always returned to hate.

She had to die, so he could get his revenge. Yes, after he got his answers from the Brat he'd kill her. Finally taste her blood and be the last thing she ever looked upon.

He was about to leap out of the bushes when he heard another monster-machine speed down the road and come to a stop by the larger one that had nearly killed him. Three more teenagers got out and joined the other three. So now there were six, going in to save the seventh. Cronus would show up soon, and Tulais had to get the Brat away before the titan showed up and hurt or killed them all.

They dropped ropes into the hole and, three at a time, slid down into the dark depths. Tulais almost groaned in frustration, knowing that he'd have to go down there as well. But at least the Brat and his friends would be cut off.

Quickly he sprang out of the bushes and raced down towards the hole, his lips drawn back in as close attempt as he could get to a smile.

So it begins he thought to himself.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Hey, lookit! I -DID- update!

Well, summer vacation has started for me, and I have a jam-packed summer ahead of me. I'm looking forwards to it… but it also means that I won't update as much as I'd like too. I will try to as often as I can, but please bear with me guys! D8

Bleh… I don't really like this chapter. Tulais was more cat-ish than wolf-ish. It seemed too light-hearted and all this Archie/Atlanta-ness just seemed to come out of nowhere. But sadly, this chapter just hasn't wanted to work with me from the start, so I guess this is about as good as it'll get, sorry.

Review please, and I'll try and update as soon as I can, but I can't say how long that might be- sorry guys!

Demenior


	17. Cronus's Flying Circus Part 2

Demons Within Me

Disclaimer: see previous chapters

Warnings: Terrible fighting scenes, mild language, and a horrible remake of a wonderful episode, Jay's going a bit crazy…

Pairings: Same as always, guys.

Authors Note: Thanks for the positive feedback for my drawing of Tulais- and make sure to check out Pheonee's version- it's AMAZING. (Go to her page to see it)

Any other fanart I get the link to, I'll put it up in a chapter as I go so that everyone will get a chance to see it ;)

Chapter 17: Cronus's Flying Circus- Part 2

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The gang, minus Neil, gathered on the edge of one of the small islands that dotted the goo-filled cavern. They grimaced in disgust as Jay silently led them into the almost-luminescent muck, hearing their captive comrade screaming for help.

"Neil?" Theresa called, a little more worried than she might have usually been.

Jay's eyes flickered in her direction, but he didn't have the heart to direct an angry glare at Theresa, so he settled with stepping in line beside her, bumping his shoulder against hers a little harder than usual to silently say she was going to be his 'partner' for this fight, and NOT Neil's. Odie stayed more by Herry; their brains-and-brawn combo had come in hand more than once in the past. Archie and Atlanta were at each others side, for obvious reasons, and they were the best tag-team force out of the group.

There came a high, metallic screech like sheering steel, making the entire group stop in their tracks and cover their ears in annoyance. Then the huge bird loomed into view, quickly followed by a second. Atlanta gasped at the size, never seeing a flying animal so big, even when she had been out hunting, and just managed to follow Jay's slightly shrieked order as he flung himself out of the way.

"Get down!"

Archie grabbed her hand and helped pull her out of the muck. At the contact she felt a flurry of butterflies in her gut, but then quickly shut the feeling out. There was no time for crushes or relationships like that while fighting Cronus- ESPECIALLY during a mission. She pulled her hand out of his awkwardly and didn't meet his hurt eyes.

"Everyone alright?" Jay called, trying to break the stunned silence. Those were HUGE birds, probably bigger than the giants they were used to fighting. And plus, they were covered in armor, how were they supposed to fight them and come out… with everyone intact?

"Atlanta, Archie- look out!" Herry suddenly cried.

Archie and Atlanta whirled around to see one of the Stymphalian Birds, as they had previously determined were the beasts that had kidnapped Neil, swoop down at them with it's talons outstretched.

Atlanta dove to the side immediately, but as Archie turned to dive he knew it was going to be too late. His heel and fear of anything watery above his ankles was making him too slow to dodge the metal talons. It might've been his own mind yelling at him, but he could swear he heard someone scream his name.

Then suddenly there was a flurry of dark, nearly black, fur and claws and fangs that barreled into the bird. The new beast snarled loudly as it tried to sink it's fangs into the bird's neck, but the metal beast pulled away quickly, frightened by the sudden appearance of the demon.

Archie's eyes widened, in fear, or possibly even awe, at the huge demon standing before him. This was the demon he needed to talk to before he could truly confirm his fears and suspicions. This demon was very easily the reason why Archie was suddenly feeling so suspicious, of the gods, of his friends, and even himself. Tulais could prove he really did have an over-reactive imagination, or change his own life forever.

The huge demon wolf stood in the murky water, snarling viciously at the birds that had retreated momentarily and were circling above the group of seven. Neil's cries still echoed somewhere in the background.

Tulais turned to look at Archie, his crimson, black-rimmed eyes narrowing, "You and I have some unfinished business, Brat."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Jay's dark brown eyes widened in fear. The first time they had fought Tulais, about a day or two ago now, the demon had seemed much smaller thanks to the rain and darkness, and had been badly injured. But now, with his coat fluffy and dry, and his deep wounds apparently healed, this could easily be the last fight of their lives. They had barely managed to escape with Archie before, and this time, if Tulais was really intent on killing Archie, they might not be able to stop him.

Jay had heard Tulais right when the demon had sworn to return for Archie, but he had expected a longer break so that the demon would have been able to get over his wounds, and then that would have given himself some more time to prepare his team for another attack and consult with Hera the best way to stop Tulais.

But even if the situation did look hopeless, Jay was determined NOT to abandon his team and be remembered as a coward. He knew what Tulais was after- Archie, and Archie was also the only one facing Tulais, since everyone else had stepped back in shock and a bit of fear, like him. But Jay, sword held ready, quickly made his way through the viscous liquid and stood in front of Archie.

"He's not going ANYWHERE with you, Tulais. You'll have to get through me first!" he said loudly, commanding and almost challenging the demon to try and attack, like a Leader should.

Tulais lifted his head higher, his pointed ears perking upright as he opened his mouth to reply, but stopped when he saw something Jay didn't. Thanks to the adrenaline and nervousness in his body, Jay jumped in alarm as Archie grabbed his wrist and, a tad rougher than he could have, simply gave Jay a slight push to the side.

"DON'T make decisions for me," Archie hissed under his breath just enough that only Jay could hear. But by the way Tulais's ears were cocked forwards and the demon seemed to be almost… smiling, Jay could tell that he'd heard as well.

"Archie, I know you like being brave and hate accepting help- but Tulais is going to kill you-"

"You're wrong Jay."

That simple statement caught Jay off guard. He hadn't been expecting an 'Oh, yes of course almighty Leader', but not what he'd just heard.

All at once Archie's reply confirmed to Jay that he WAS hiding something. Jay narrowed his eyes to Archie, remembering the exact words they had been told by Chiron that morning that seemed so long ago now, when they had woken up to find that Archie was in the immortal council:

"It is a serous thing if the demon, Tulais, has somehow connected to Archie."

So was Archie in league with this demon? Did he know more than he was letting on? Maybe what Hera had warned Jay about way, way long ago was really happening, and he'd just been too blind to see it:

"He'll be the first to change sides if it looks beneficial to him, Jay. There's one in every bunch. Always be on your guard and NEVER trust his type with your life, or of those you care about…"

Jay bit his lip, resisting the remarkably strong urge to knock Archie to the ground and force the answers out of the boy right then and there. He hated guessing, not being able to confide in his team, watching them like a scientist- studying every little thing they did and determining the reason and motivations behind it. He wanted to just trust his team, but it was so obvious to see the divided loyalties even within the group.

If Archie did turn against them, no doubt Atlanta would go with him. If she left, Theresa would feel pressured as the only girl and feel forced to leave. Neil would go with her, Jay knew, and he'd go to make sure Neil never got his little, clean model hands on Theresa. Herry, out of pure conformity would unwittingly follow the group anywhere, and Odie would go because he would never give up his group of friends that easily. It was like dominos, and could work in any direction.

So instead, Jay did the only thing he could do while keeping his teams support with him. He kept his narrow-eyed glare locked with Archie's eyes, as if trying to pry deeper into the younger teen and read him, and jerked his hand out of Archie's. Archie held Jay's gaze, but Jay could see that, as a Leader, he still had some fraction of control over Archie because the shorter of the two was forced to look away and glanced towards the demon.

Jay felt himself grow angrier as Archie looked towards the demon. Wouldn't he look back to his teammates for support? This only proved further- Archie was working with Tulais and this could all be a big scam to get rid of his team once and for all! His blood was boiling and he couldn't resist himself now. Jay lunged forwards and grabbed Archie's shoulder. He heard a gasp from the group at the going-to-get-ugly standoff.

"Then what are you planning? Are you going to kill us all-" Jay stopped as Archie shoved him back with remarkable force and snarled angrily, eyes almost as aflame as Tulais' when the demon had been furious with them.

"Shut Up! What are you saying? I'm betraying you? Never! Never in a million years, you bastard!" Archie was shaking with rage now; Jay was almost shocked into surrender by the mere display of rage. He'd always known Archie had had a fierce temper, but never really witnessed the full extent till now.

Archie whirled towards Tulais, trying to ignore Jay and the fact that he felt upset and angry enough to kill his Leader at the moment, which if he really were a demon, wouldn't be that much out of character for him.

"You want your answers, right? I'll give them to you-willingly- IF you help defend my friends and get us out of this fight alive."

Jay was, once again, taken aback. Even though he was mad as hell, Archie seemed to be thinking like the leader that was buried deep down inside of him. They needed help t defeat these huge birds, and Tulais was just the powerhouse they needed for that. But then again, how could they dare trust this demon who had been trying to kill them a while ago. Archie had taken care of that by out loud asking the demon to protect the others. But was it all worth risking his own life for that?

"Archie," Jay growled warningly, he didn't like the way Archie was taking the offer. He hadn't liked the way a lot of the conversations involving him and Archie had gone lately.

Archie flashed a warning glare as Tulais tilted his head to the side thoughtfully.

"I help you and your group, then you give me my answers. What's to keep your friends from attacking and driving me off again," the demon said simply. He wouldn't allow himself to be forced away from the answers he needed again, but he liked to always have an extra plan in the slightest chance that he needed it.

Archie looked at his 'friends' (After Jay's sudden outburst of suspicion, he wasn't sure if he could trust ANY of them anymore) and quickly knew that even if they might still mistrust him, they would never let him be taken away by a demon without a proper fight. At other times he would be thankful for this, but right now, he didn't want such good, loyal friends.

"I'll go with you- anywhere you want- willingly. No tracking devices or contacting my friends, just me, alone."

"Archie…" Atlanta trailed off worriedly.

Tulais sneered, sowing his fangs which weren't actually as white as they'd appeared in the storm, and said one word which caused the major rift in the team forever.

"Agreed."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Theresa, on your left!"

"Thanks!"

"Herry, look up!"

"Jay, behind you!"

"Atlanta- duck!"

"Nice kick!"

"Move it, kid!"

Various warnings, praises and thanks rang out as the group slipped and slid through the much and few little islands of dirt while distracting the birds enough for Odie to get Neil out of the nest of the Stymphalian Birds. They weren't having much luck. As soon as Odie got too close to the nest, the birds would circle round and dive at him, causing the others to make a mad dash towards the youngest teen to save him.

"I want everyone to circle around the nest- confuse them with little attempt to get up into the nest, but make sure Odie gets up there okay!" Jay commanded. Everyone, including Archie and Tulais, obeyed.

While Theresa was skirting the larger island the big, glowing tree with the nest in its branches was growing on, her thoughts drifted to Jay and Archie's unexpected confrontation moments earlier. It had frightened her to see Jay so angry… and to accuse Archie of something so terrible as betraying the team was unimaginable! Archie had always been loyal to the team, they all had. Even when Odie had 'crossed the line' it had all just been an act. But Theresa could tell that Odie's little move had unsettled Jay, making him wary of his own team. It scared her to think that maybe her Leader had a right to not trust them, and if he did, then what made her so sure she could trust her team as well?

"Move!" came the sudden snarl from beside her and she felt a huge weight crashing into her and sending her smaller body hurtling into the water. She came up for a breath of air, every part of her body stinging with the force displayed in the shove and her head still reeling form the fall. Theresa gasped when Tulais's paw slammed the water beside her, his body low over hers as the Stymphalian bird made false attacks at them overhead. She was UNDER the demon.

Jay turned as he heard Theresa scream, and nearly passed out with shock. Tulais was standing over HIS Theresa and nearly pressing her into the water! He was going to kill her! Forgetting about the birds, Jay ran towards Theresa and the horrid, terrible demon that stupid, stupid Archie had TRIED to ask for help from.

"Get away from her!" Jay nearly screamed, almost stabbing his sword into Tulais's side, but managing to stop himself short when the demon slipped to the side, off his wonderful Theresa.

Theresa nearly curled up into Jay's chest and fell asleep in his secure arms as he pulled her up and absorbed her in a fierce hug. She looked over his shoulder through thick black eyelashes to see another bronze bird sailing down at them, about to strike…

For some reason the scream wouldn't rise in her throat, and she could only watch helplessly as it came closer… and closer…

There was a 'fwaap' of metal on metal and Theresa gasped in shock.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Mwahaha, a cut-off, since, you know, you guys 'deserve one' (NOT AT ALL)

So here you are, hope that this chapter meets at least an 'it's okay, I guess' standard, and I hope you guys liked it. I shall try to update again in the near future- seeing as

WE ARE ENTERING THE FINAL STRETCH WITH THIS PART OF DEMONS WITHIN ME!

So, when the sequel come out, and you'd like to be notified, just send me an e-mail, or personal message, giving me the e-mail address you'd like me to contact you with and I'll let you know when I get it 'published'. Or, you can just wait… and wait… and then be really excited when you see it ;D

Also, any suggestions for the name of the sequel? I know you guys have a slight clue of what'll happen, but it'll mainly be about Archie's fight with the gods, and many other twists and turns along the way (I'm all about a curvy road!) I'd like to hear your ideas, seeing as I don't have any, and if I really, really like yours it could be used, or something very similar.

Anyways, does anyone still want me to do a checklist of things to remember in Demons Within me for when you go to read the sequel?

Please review guys and try and answer these questions for me!

Demenior


	18. Cronus's Flying Circus Part 3

Demons Within Me

Disclaimer: see previous chapters

Warnings: Terrible fighting scenes, a boy-to-boy apology, more Jay being hard on himself for not being a 'good' leader, and a ruined kiss scene

Pairings: Same as always- Archie/Atlanta (barely) and a big strain between Jay/Theresa/Neil

Authors Note: …I'm not dead … yet.

Chapter 18: Cronus's Flying Circus- Part 3

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

There was a 'fwaap' of metal on metal and Theresa gasped in shock.

The Stymphalian Bird wheeled around and flew away, having been quite startled by Archie's whip, which hadn't wounded it, but had scared the beast.

Archie was crouched low in the water, still glaring up at the bird with a fierceness that might even make Tulais shudder. He skirted to the side, back to where he had previously been distracting the birds. Theresa's eyes widened considerably as she noticed Archie and Tulais, almost side-by-side now, were moving in nearly identical ways- for what could be said since one had four feet and the other had two.

They had the same low-to-the-ground-side-stepping approach while they were being captious, and the all-out-run-for-it run when they were attacking. Theresa shuddered as she looked from the purple (nearly black in the less-lighted parts of the cavern) coat of Tulais, to Archie's trademark purple hair- it was nearly the same color. She momentarily held Jay tighter as if she was going to fall, and buried her face in his shoulder.

Could Archie somehow be related to Tulais? If so- that might be why he was getting such bad reactions from Jay, from all of them. Jay had always confided in her when he needed support, and she knew Hera had been teaching him a lot about demons and beasts that they might fight. Could Hera be secretly trying to target Archie? No, no, Hera would never do that. She'd talk to the goddess later, and make sure, though. Besides, Archie was a hero- why would the gods bring him to New Olympia if he were a demon?

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Guys! So glad you came- but too late! I broke a nail!" Neil complained as he dashed away from the tree. Odie had _finally_ gotten him down, and so now the group could retreat and find some way to seal up the hole and keep the Stymphalian Birds contained within.

"Everyone- fall back and regroup at the entrance! We'll need to create a cave-in to hold the birds off until we can come up with a better plan to keep them contained!" Jay commanded, staying near Theresa should anything try and hurt her again.

Herry was half-carrying and half-dragging an exhausted Odie and a complaining Neil. Atlanta was running beside Archie for a few lengths, but seeing as he wasn't going to talk to her right now, she dashed ahead, ignoring the emptiness in her gut that was making her feel sick. Archie was running alongside Tulais, Theresa making a side-note on how their run was almost exactly the same. The beasts shrieked overhead, threatening to dive down and attack at any given moment. Archie and Tulais dropped back and fended off the two birds before re-joining the group.

No one made eye contact with Archie- they could all see that Jay had doubts about him, and if they were to try and help Archie, it would look as if they were 'sided' with Archie, and make Jay doubt them as well. The team couldn't afford for this to happen, and besides, Jay would see, sooner or later, Archie was and never would betray them.

They stood under the large opening, Jay ushering Odie, Neil and Theresa to get up the ropes as fast as they could. Unfortunately, Theresa had to half-drag both of the boys out of the hole and collapsed in a dazed heap when they got out. Neil grabbed her before she hit the ground and held her close to himself. Herry and Atlanta made their way up, while Archie, Tulais and Jay waited down below, still keeping the birds at bay.

Jay wasn't telling Archie to leave, because then he'd be stuck down here, alone, with Tulais. But he didn't want to go first since then he'd be vulnerable to the attacks of Archie, if he did turn on them, and Tulais. So he had to make a hard decision.

"Tulais- get to the entrance and hold the Stymphalian Birds off while Archie and I climb up!" he said, swinging his sword in a wide arc at the female of the two who had dared come too close to him.

The demon growled angrily, and Jay swore Tulais was about to attack HIM because Jay was giving him an order, but then Archie stepped between the two, eyeing Tulais sharply and reminding the demon that they still had a deal. Tulais's fur flattened and he turned, looking around, before coiling his haunches and springing up as high as he could into one of the glowing trees and then leaping onto the next branch. He managed to leap forwards again, grabbing hold of the lip of the entrance with his paws, scrambling with his hind paws to get a hold, but after a stressful moment, he pulled his entire body out.

"Alright Archie, it's you and me now," Jay said, still trying to sound like the Leader he felt he wasn't, eyeing Archie coldly.

Archie nodded, still angry at Jay's mistrust in him, but still wanting to prove himself loyal.

The two of them turned and grabbed onto one of the three dangling ropes and began the toilsome, slow, work of pulling their bodies up and out of the cavern. The Stymphalian Birds shrieked and circled around them in the air, Archie pausing every so often to hang onto the rope with one hand and snap his whip at the birds with the other. Jay would always stop and watch carefully when Archie did this, to make sure the other didn't try and 'accidentally' hit him with his whip. A loud snarl came from the mouth of the huge cave and Jay felt one of the birds wheel away from behind him; the tailwind from the large bird nearly sent him on a long free-fall.

Suddenly, the male and slightly larger of the two birds turned and dove straight at Archie. Archie snapped his whip at him, and the bird started as the whip snapped beside it's eye, and turned sharply, but sliced clean through Jay's rope, just below Jay's foot.

Jay screamed as his rope swung and shook, making him lose his footing and he slid so low that his arms were stretched above his head, his face level with the end of the rope, and his feet dangled dangerously over the long, long fall. He heard another screech from the female bird as she swooped in closer to finish him off. As a sick, side thought, Jay wondered if this was what it felt like to be a worm on a hook and feeling the fish close in to grab you...

He heard Archie's whip snap at the bird, unable to get close enough to really deter her. Jay watched though wide eyes as she came closer, and screeched to himself to stay calm. Think of a plan! Get yourself out of this!

He strained the muscles in his arms and lifted himself up further, bringing his feet up. As the avian came close enough to see every detail on her metal-feathered body, he kicked forwards and the heel of his right shoe managed to find its way into her eye. She screamed in pain, but more of shock, and ducked into a downward spiral where she hit the muck below and remained half-buried in ooze, dazed. The male fly down and settled beside her, rubbing his metal-plated head against hers.

Jay's head was spinning with pain, the sudden wave of fatigue, and vertigo. He screamed in pain as his hands were torn up by the bucking rope and his feet throbbed like a huge drum in his mind. Somewhere, over his screaming and the 'whoosh' of the wind in his ears as he spun, he heard the rope snap and felt his stomach lurch as he began to plummet downwards.

Then someone grabbed his wrist, causing his body to snap forwards as he stopped so abruptly, and felt the person skidding down their rope as well. But finally the other managed to get a good hold on the rope and the two came to a stop. Jay was breathing heavily and looked up, feeling ashamed as he saw the ankle brace on the leg that was wrapped tightly around the rope. Archie's blue shorts and hoodie, and then Archie's pain-stricken face, probably from severe case of rope burn and his shoulder might be close to dislocating again thanks to the sudden strain Jay was causing him to put on it. Hesitantly, Jay reached over and grabbed hold of the rope underneath Archie, wrapping his legs around it and pulling out of Archie's grasp.

"Thanks," he mumbled quietly, feeling ashamed that he'd forgotten so quickly all the good things Archie had done for the team. He would've really liked to climb out, but his feet were so sore he was almost sure he must've fractured, or even broken, all the bones in them, his hands were stinging and he was quite positive Archie's hand was worse than his.

"No problem," he heard Archie mutter under his breath, though the bitterness and anger that he still held towards Jay remained in his voice, even after saving Jay's life.

Jay bit his lip, this was as good a time as any to apologize about his earlier accusations, since they were completely false and he had been caught up in his confusions, doubts and worries about Tulais and everything he had been told.

"Archie... I... I'm... I'm sorry," Jay finally said, swallowing the fact that a really great Leader would never make mistakes.

He heard Archie make a sort of 'hm' in slight shock, but didn't reply otherwise.

"Me saying that you were a traitor... was completely wrong. I shouldn't have questioned your loyalties, because you've never given me any reason to doubt you. And so just because Tulais is freaking me out, I shouldn't take it out on you because you're acting, well, different than normal. I mean it, not matter what happens Archie, you've got my trust. I, well, I **am** sorry."

At his words, Jay more-or-less expected Archie to relax and say 'Thanks Jay, I understand.' But instead, he felt Archie's grip on the rope tighten and heard the younger near-hyperventilate quietly in the darkness while they waited.

"Th-thanks Jay," Archie finally said. Jay wanted to ask further, but he had just said he trusted Archie, and he wouldn't go back on his word, no matter what.

"Archie? Jay? Are you guys all right down there? We heard the rope snap and everything!" came Atlanta's worried call.

"Yeah, we're okay... Enough! But, uh, would you guys mind pulling us out? We're a little stuck..." Jay trailed off with a half-forced chuckle.

"Okay!" he heard her call back, and then more quietly since she wasn't talking to them, "Herry, Odie, Neil, can you give me a hand?"

Jay felt his heart quicken, what about Theresa? Was she alright? Why couldn't she help? Was she seriously hurt- or worse?

Getting pulled up seemed to take a hundred years.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Me saying that you were a traitor... was completely wrong. I shouldn't have questioned your loyalties, because you've never given me any reason to doubt you. And so just because Tulais is freaking me out, I shouldn't take it out on you because you're acting, well, different than normal. I mean it, not matter what happens Archie, you've got my trust. I, well, I **am** sorry."

Archie clutched the rope tighter, almost feeling sick thanks to Jay's words. He knew his leader had the right intentions, but how well would they trust him if Archie really was a demon? How well would they trust him if they learned that Tulais was his ancestor? Archie felt his breath quicken at the thought of being driven away from his friends- the newer family he had come to know and love- and losing what little _true_ relationship he had with Atlanta, besides their friendship. He would lose the fight with Cronus, to be replaced y another, more trust-worthy, hero's descendant who didn't have any dark secrets to harbor away from his closest friends.

No, no they'd never find out! Archie closed his eyes tightly, before remembering that Jay was waiting for a reply.

"Thanks, Jay," he chocked out, feeling somewhat better since his leader had forgive him.

For now a voice said in the back of his mind. Archie blocked it out and nearly let go of the rope when it started moving, thanks to the others pulling him up, he observed.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"There we go!" Herry grunted as he pushed the last boulder over the entrance to the cave. Those Stymphalian birds wouldn't be escaping anytime soon.

Jay was sitting in the truck, right beside Neil who had politely refused to not let go of Theresa, and who was holding her in his lap. He was worried sick, since hearing she had passed out, but was assured many times by the half-asleep Odie that she'd be fine after some sleep. Atlanta was momentarily standing by Archie, missing the closeness they'd shared earlier at the circus.

"Archie... I know you would never-" she began slowly, hoping to Mount Olympus and back that he wasn't upset with her.

"Just... just let it go, 'Lan. That's taken care of now, it's alright," She felt hot as he placed his not-burned hand on her upper arm for reassurance. She could barely meet Archie's gaze which seemed to be... looking for something? But what? She didn't know what he was looking for in her eyes, or how to give it to him. She felt his hand trail off her arm and fall down limply to his side. It was only then she realized how close they were. Her cheeks felt flushed and she wanted to turn away in embarrassment as she'd done many times before, but this time, she couldn't turn away. She didn't want to. Archie seemed about as equally focused on her, his eyes seemed to be digging deeper and deeper into her, and she didn't want them to leave. Unconsciously she felt herself leaning forwards, feeling him lean in...

The gap between them closing...

"Brat, you made a deal with me. It's now time to honor your end of the bargain," Tulais snapped, standing only a few feet away, apart form the group.

Archie and Atlanta jumped, pulling away from each other before anyone could see them together. Archie nodded slowly towards Tulais, and then looked back to Atlanta.

"Be careful- I don't know how long I'll be gone, but don't worry, I'll live," he smiled, and then wrapped her in a 'friendly' hug. She hugged him back, but they both stopped too early for their own likings so that no one would think that they were 'crushing' on each other. Because they weren't... they were _only_ friends. _Only_ friends.

Archie didn't want to meet Jay- or anyone else's eyes, but he forced himself to look them squarely in the eyes, trying to show that he was still their teammate and not going to become an enemy. He nodded to Jay as he met the dark, dark brown eyes.

"I'll be back as soon as I can, please don't break my part of the deal and come after me. I can take acre of myself," he smiled weakly, but Jay caught the hint.

Archie, by going with Tulais, would prove that he was honorable, and would come back still as a hero and prove that he _was_ loyal to the end. In a strange way, it was just what the team needed to be completely re-convinced that Archie wasn't a traitor, and yet, Jay couldn't help but feel utterly sick at letting his own companion go off with the demon that might try and kill him.

"Archie..." he began slowly, but then stopped as Archie narrowed his gaze, fierce determination showing in his grey-blue eyes, and suddenly Jay knew Archie was going to be okay.

"Be careful," Jay finally commented.

Archie nodded in response and turned to Tulais, the demon 'grinned' savagely and bent down on his forepaws slightly so that Archie could get onto his back. Archie stopped one last time to look at Atlanta, if he didn't go with Tulais right now and fought alongside his friends and killed the demon, he might be able to get her to understand how he felt about her- and it even seemed like she felt the same way back! But he had to know, and Tulais was the key to finally ending the terrible secrets he felt inside himself. Quickly, Archie grabbed the demons horns and swung himself onto the broad shoulders, still clutching the black horns. He felt Tulais's muscles seize up under the fur and all at once the demon was off- sprinting away!

While they watched Archie leave with Tulais, there were quizzical glances between the entire group as, silently and secretly, they all realized that they weren't just seeing Archie leave with a demon, they were losing the same Archie they had known all along...

Archie didn't look back once, until they were far away from the others. He didn't want to see Atlanta's hurt and confused face.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

So now we end the 'Cronus's Flying Circus' segment of this story (and what a doozy it was to write) and get back into the 'DWM' world of no real missions whatsoever XD

So, DANG, Archie and Atlanta almost kissed, but then Tulais ruined the moment. waggles finger accusingly in Tulais's direction and then backs away slowly as Tulais grows at Demenior

Well, now Archie is going to get some answers, as will Tulais. How will their relationship work? Will the others be okay in Archie's absence? How are Hera and the gods going to react when they learn that Archie is with Tulais? Will the others slowly come to realize the truth about Archie?

Demenior


	19. Truth and Lies

Demons Within Me

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

Warnings: People reveal their secrets O8

Pairings: Same as always- Jay/Theresa/Neil, Archie/Atlanta (MAIN)

Authors Note: Thanks for the awesome feedback guys! I feel so… so… 'squeeb-lish' when I see someone mention 'Demons…' on their page/fanfiction or see drawings and such. It's cool to know that people really like this story!

If you want to see the fanart, check my bio soon, I'll try to get all of the links up right away.

19: Truth and Lies

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Atlanta whirled around to face her tired teammates, "So we're just going to let him go off with that demon?"

Everyone looked down at their feet. They had been quietly wondering the same thing- but Jay had agreed and basically, Jay's word was final.

Shocked, Atlanta tried to meet Jay's eyes but the brunette didn't look at her.

"Come on," he said quietly, "let's go home. We're all tired and Theresa needs a good sleep."

"But what about Archie?" Atlanta cried.

Finally Jay looked up at her, but not completely understanding her reaction. He was too tired to want to fight with anyone else anyways.

"We're going home. Now." He repeated sternly.

Atlanta realized she was beaten but decided to try once more- how could her friends just abandon one of their own to go with a demon?

"So you're going to let us **abandon **our friend and-"

"That's enough Atlanta! Archie made his choice, and if all goes well, he'll be back soon. Now get. In. The. Truck," Jay snapped.

Atlanta fell silent and bowed her head, yelling at herself to stop and fight Jay, or go after Archie on her own, but she was so tired. Numbly, she lifted her feet and wordlessly climbed into the truck beside Odie.

Neil was still holding onto Theresa possessively, enjoying the look of Jay not being able to help 'his' beloved and have to sit and watch Theresa's true love take care of her. Jay was forced to drive her car back to the dorm.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Archie's head was swimming with all the questions he wanted to ask. He was exhausted beyond belief, and giddy at the same time. Tulais ran steady, barreling through the forest at a fast pace, but didn't speak all the while. Archie clung to the black horns for dear life and pressed his knees as hard as he dared into the shaggy fur.

After what seemed like days, Tulais stopped and leaned down again, letting Archie slip off his shoulders and stumble slightly since his legs had fallen asleep. In reaction, he reached out and steadied himself against the demons side.

Tulais snorted and stalked away, lying down on the ground and waiting a moment for Archie to sit down across from him.

"So," the demon rumbled, almost calmly which was an emotion Archie hadn't seen on the demon, "tell me your story. I want to know why you smell of Achilles… and myself."

Archie's eyes widened. That _had_ to confirm it- he was the descendant of Tulais! And yet, even the demon didn't know that. Would he be upset if he knew? Would he attack if he got angry? Archie was worried on what he was going to say- feeling like when he had been in the immortal council some days ago- and felt warm fury run through his veins and knew he didn't have to worry, he could take care of himself.

"It's because I am a descendant of Achilles- he died a long, long time ago," Archie explained, almost nervous, but not so much as he thought he would have been.

Tulais's eyes narrowed and he growled in his throat, making Archie flinch, "So you weren't lying to me earlier- and neither was Cronus then."

Archie sat up taller, "Cronus? What did he tell you?"

"Why do you care so much about the Titan?"

"Because my frie- the others who were with me earlier are all descendants of ancient heroes. We were brought together by the gods to defeat Cronus since he's escaped from Tarterus and-"

"So was that why I thought I recognized Odysseus… and… Atalanta?" Tulais said, softly as if he were talking to himself.

'Uh, yeah, that must've been Odie… and Atlanta," Archie replied, surprised that Tulais might know more of their ancestors than once believed.

"So Achilles is truly dead?"

"Yeah, he is."

"Atalanta would be dead too, then."

"I guess so, unless she was immortal."

"How did Achilles die?" Tulais asked. He looked… different now, as if he had just aged a thousand years and was no longer in the prime of his youth. Maybe knowing that what had kept him going for so long, traveling to save Achilles, was untrue now, had finally defeated him.

"He…" Archie was going to say he was shot by Paris in the battle of Troy, which was true, but then he remembered the dreams he had of Tulais and Achilles earlier. Was _that_ why he dreamed of Achilles' death?

"He… he was in the battle of Troy- Greece had just opened the gates and were flooding the city with their warriors. Achilles believed he saw you, and… it was Paris. Paris learned from the gods where Achilles' one weakness lay…"

He could swear he heard Tulais almost gasp, but the demon was still watching him without moving one bit.

"And so Paris… Paris shot him twice, in his right heel. Achilles was down- and he should have been dead- but he got back to his feet and tried to still attack Paris. Then Apollo appeared over Paris' head and shot Achilles through the chest with a huge, flaming arrow. He died then," Archie finished.

He was shocked when Tulais started whimpering. The demon was slowly shaking his muzzle from side to side, as if trying to believe that what Archie had said wasn't true. Archie looked down to his feet, almost guiltily, and then nearly jumped when Tulais threw his head back and howled loudly.

The demon's cry finally fell silent and he lowered his head to the ground.

"I assume you know about me well enough, don't you?" he mumbled quietly.

Archie nodded, the gods had told him most of what he wanted to know.

"And so if you are Achilles' descendant, yet still have my scent, that would most likely make you of my kin as well."

Archie nodded again.

"And your companions are of other hero blood, including Atalanta. What is her descendant's name?"

"A-Atlanta."

Tulais smiled, "She is almost as beautiful as her ancestor. But you already know that, don't you?"

Archie felt his cheeks flush, "Wh- pardon?"

Tulais chuckled, a deep, throaty sound, "You are quite close to her. I guess it is just my bloodlines curse to love her… and her kin."

"Love? Why do you think I love her? She's just… just my friend," Archie looked down at his well-worn sandals as he finished his sentence, to hide the evident blush on his face from the demon across from him.

Tulais lifted his head and looked directly at Archie, "I saw you two, right before I told you to come with me. Don't feel embarrassed over love."

Archie shifted uncomfortably under his ancestor's glare. Why was Tulais being so perceptive of everything? Wasn't he just some angry, raging demon?

"Anyways," the wolf-goat hybrid continued, "tell me more about yourself. It would be nice to know something of my bloodline."

Archie shrugged, what was there to say?

"I like to run, I'm in high school, and I don't like doing my homework. Umm… I really, really can't stand water-"

"Why?" Tulais cocked his head to the side, had it been a puppy or a kitten doing that action, it could be called cute, but it just looked out of place on the demon.

Archie clenched his fists and managed to get out, "I'd rather not say." He was shaking again- he hadn't thought back to that day when he'd first become deathly afraid of water in a long, long time.

"Why?" Tulais repeated again, "What happened in the water?"

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Oh thank Olympus you're all safe!" Hera exclaimed in relief as the heroes (Theresa had woken up on the way home) filled into her room.

"We heard Tulais had shown up, and we were deeply concerned for you safety," Chiron put in form beside Hera.

They all nodded tiredly. Chiron noticed this and whispered something to Hera; she nodded and clapped her hands, seven chairs appearing behind them for the group to sit on. Except, one was left empty.

"Where's Archie? He's not… dead, is he?" Chiron asked.

"No! He's… he's fine, I hope. He went with Tulais after me made a deal with him," Herry explained.

Atlanta raised an eyebrow. Was it just her- or did it seem like Hera and Chiron had just gone considerably pale.

"And you _let_ him go off with a demon? Tulais will **kill** him!" Hera cried, nearly shrieking. Everyone flinched guiltily; they had never seen Hera so angry.

"We… I… -I-'m sorry, Miss Hera. It was my choice to let Archie go with Tulais," Jay explained, standing up.

Not that he would have listened if I told him not too he thought to himself.

"Besides, I don't think Tulais will hurt Archie- all he wanted were some answers," Jay finished.

Hera kept her fairly calm composure, but inside she was shaking with fear, with rage, with so many other emotions, she couldn't name them.

"He is a **demon**, Jay. How many times have I told you not to trust a demon?" Hera said sternly, Jay shifted uncomfortably from on foot to the other, upset that he'd let Hera down.

"We don't need to worry," came an unusually strong voice. Everyone looked over and was surprised to see Odie standing up.

"We can trust that Tulais won't hurt Archie, I'm positive."

"Oh? And why's that- because they're both purple?" Neil commented.

Odie shook his head, wiping his glasses on the bottom of his blue shirt, drawing out the silence like a master of tension.

Is this what he was trying to tell me earlier? What he didn't want to say? What could be so important, or shocking, that it would change my view of Archie so greatly that Odie was afraid to tell me? Jay watched his younger friend with curious brown-black eyes.

"It's because Archie is a descendant of not just Achilles, but Tulais himself. Isn't he?" Odie asked the gods.

"What?" came the astonished cries form the other six, including Jay. How could Odie say something like that? But to their shock, Theresa stood up beside Odie.

"I agree with Odie- there are too many similarities to ignore," she said defiantly.

Hera nodded solemnly, "And you have both guessed right." There was no point in hiding the truth form the children- maybe it would prove useful if their trust in Archie wasn't as strong when the boy died.

"B-but _how_?" Herry demanded, springing to his feet.

"His father was a direct descendant of Tulais; his mother was a descendant of Achilles. It is as simple as that," Chiron explained in a monotone voice, half the words sounding forced.

Atlanta's eyes widened at the news. Archie- _the_ Archie she had become such good friends with. The same Archie she had slowly begun to crush on, the same she had eventually begun to love, and the same she had almost kissed before he had left with Tulais, WAS a demon.

No, Archie wasn't a demon. Just because it was in his blood- it didn't mean that was what he was. He was a hero! How many times had he saved her, the gang, or helped to save the world? Every single mission! It just didn't seem right for Archie to be a demon!

"If Archie is with Tulais right now, I fear Tulais will be trying to use his family relation to Archie to try and turn Archie against us. And if blood is indeed thicker than loyalty, then you may have to fight Archie," Hera said, inwardly congratulating herself for being able to keep such a straight face while she wanted to run and scream in terror.

Tulais and Achilles were now joined, and this meant that the gods _had_ to destroy them now. Why hadn't she just done away with Tulais all those years ago?

"No!" This time it was he fiery redhead Atlanta who spoke up, the one who was frighteningly close to the Demonspawn, "I know that Archie would _never_ betray us! You might think he's a lousy demon, but he still has hero blood and that's all the counts!" Atlanta spat harshly.

"Atlanta, we know that. Why do you think Archie is here in the first place? A common name for those like him, those with demon blood, is Demonspawn- but have you ever heard any of the gods call him that? We brought him here so that he could show the world and all of the other immortals that… people like him aren't ruthless, bloodthirsty murderers. I'm just merely stating the worst possible outcome," Hera said, a tad too calmly. Atlanta shivered, she felt patronized and secretly wondered if the queen goddess was lying through her teeth, then mentally slapped herself for thinking so badly of the gods.

"Fine then," she finally muttered.

"Return to your dorm and wait for Archie's return, until then, just do as you normally would, please children," Chiron said, quickly ushering them out of the room

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Look! Another update!

The sequal is already started on Ficwad- "Rise of a Hero"

When you finish here, go check it out.

Demenior


	20. What Happened in the Water

Demons Within Me

Disclaimer: See previous chapters. I don't own 'The Little Mermaid', the version I'm familiar with belongs to Disney.

Pairings: Our main course is Archie/Atlanta, with a little Jay/Theresa/Neil on the side

Warnings: Archie almost drowns, and Tulais laughs. I also poorly try to make him seem childish in the 'flashback'... I can't do children very well. There is mentionings of blood- but it's not that bad.

Authors Note: Wow... just... wow. 20 chapters in, we have only a few more chapters to go, and I can't even stick to a real Greek Myth if my life depended on it!

20: What Happened in the Water

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Come on, Archie, we're going down to the beach!" a younger version of his father cried.

Eight-year-old Archie literally flew into his seat, eagerly awaiting the feel of the sand in his toes and the cool water on his legs and the yummy picnic lunch his mother had been packing all morning. His parents laughed and got in the front seats, turning on the engine and pulling out of the driveway.

His face was plastered against the window as they shot through the countryside, none of the city junk for their family, and he admired the meadows, pastures, animals and plants.

It was only about an hour later when they arrived on the ocean, a big, vast blue 'land' that was waiting to be discovered...

Or in Archie's case, snorkeled in.

He took his pair of goggles that he practiced for the beach with when he was having a bath, the ones with the dolphin decoration around the lens, and dashed down to the water. But just before he got a foot in, his father grabbed his wrist and pulled him back.

"Oh, no you don't, sport! You have to wear your lifejacket, and you water shoes."

Archie sighed. He hated the lifejacket, but he loved being in the water. He only had to wear it because he wasn't a very good swimmer- this was his first time to the beach and there were no swimming places around his house, save for when he had practiced in the bathtub. The water shoes were to protect his bad foot, which the doctors had said he would never get rid of unless he had an operation, but his parents had disagreed.

He put on the water shoes easily and reluctantly, he put his arms up over his head and let his dad buckle him in, momentarily wondering why his hair had started off completely red like his mom's, but was now changing purple like his dads.

"There you go, have fun but stay in sight, okay?" his father finished doing up the zipper and clipping on the fat, orange jacket and patted him on the head. Archie nodded eagerly and snapped on the goggles, then leapt into the surf.

It was very, very cold but he gritted his teeth and acted like the big boy he was and didn't go running back onto the sand. He got to waist height and then, taking a deep breath, put his head under the water and clumsily paddled along, looking at the sand underneath.

It was amazing at first- like a rush of adrenaline, just to be able to see underwater, but quickly had to come up for air. He took another big breath and put his face under again. Just looking at the sand and shells quickly became boring, he wanted to see fish, and sharks- maybe even a shipwreck full of treasure!

Archie peered ahead through the half-clear water, seeing that it got deeper further out. Would he see anything over there? Then, something flashed in the corner of his eye. He turned his head sharply but didn't catch the... thing. It had almost looked like a person! Was it a mermaid? Or a dolphin? Maybe he could befriend it like in the movie he had watched last night.

Archie came up for a breath, then put his head under again (the stupid lifejacket was preventing him from going entirely under) and looked for the mermaid/dolphin. There! He saw her; it was definitely a her thanks to her long red hair, just duck out of sight on the drop off. Maybe it was the little mermaid from the movie his mom liked to watch with him. He paddled closer to the drop off and gasped when he saw that the water out there was all black! His gasp caused him to suck in some water and he came up coughing.

He spat out all the icky water and was about to put his head under again when he could swear he felt he was being watched. Archie looked around, but didn't see anyone, and went under again.

This time the black water didn't scare him half as much, instead he was interested. How many people had ever heard of black water? Water was supposed to be blue! He tried to paddle down, but was instantly jerked up again by his stupid lifejacket. Archie frowned underwater and wondered how deep he could go without it.

He puffed up his cheeks and tried to get it off, doing little summersaults as he wrestled with the buckles and straps. Then, as he felt he was running out of breath, a larger, slender hand came up and touched his own little hands. Startled, he looked up into the face of the mermaid!

She smiled and quietly whispered, showing slightly pointed teeth,

"Come with me."

Archie forgot that he was out of breath and allowed her to pull him completely under, gracefully unbuckling and slipping the infernal lifejacket off of him, and then, surprised him with taking off his goggles! He snapped his eyes shut, and felt her gently touch his squinted eyelids, and cautiously he opened one eye, and then the other, but found they didn't sting.

He hadn't noticed that they'd moved further out over the black water, nor that they were much further down than he ever had before. He was surprised to see that she had legs- just like him! She wasn't a mermaid! Or maybe she was, but she didn't have a tail? Archie was genuinely confused over that, but she cupped his chin in her hand and smiled at him again.

"You look so much like my son... and you look like... like Tulais as well. What is your name?"

At the moment, Archie didn't find it strange at all that he could hear her voice perfectly clear underwater.

"A-Archie."

"Archie, you have to come with me-"

The young boy was far too mesmerized to care that a strange woman had come out of the water demanding that she come with him, but he never forgot the one rule his parents had taught him whenever he met someone new...

"I-I have to ask my mommy and daddy first!" he went to pull away, finally feeling a little nervous, but she pulled him back.

"No, you are in danger if you leave me again! You have to come with me now, so that I can help you- you'll die if I don't take you!"

Archie struggled against her grip, kicking at her with his water shoe-covered feet.

"Let me go! Let me go!"

Suddenly a huge, booming voice shouted around the two, making the evil-water-lady cry out in fear.

"Get away from the Demonspawn!"

Archie and the Evil-Woman were forced apart by a huge current of water, she was blasted off into the black water (which now Archie had decided he would never go into alone again) and he was pushed back towards shore, but held at the bottom of the water!

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Tyler and Abigail, loving parents of young Archie, were lying on the beach. They were pretending not to notice the many stares they were receiving, Tyler with his abnormal natural purple hair and rather handsome features, and Abigail's strange beauty and small frame.

His hand was resting on her stomach, her shoulder in the crook of his neck while they relaxed in the shade.

"We haven't heard from Archie in a while," Abigail murmured to her husband, very much enjoying the warm sun, sea air and closeness to her partner.

"Probably off searching for mermaids," Tyler joked, hinting at Archie's strange obsession for anything mythical (especially Greek) and the couple chuckled together.

Abigail forced herself up, looking out onto the beach, scanning for Archie's vibrant hue of red-purple hair. When she didn't find him building sandcastles with some other kids, as she had expected him to be out of the water by now, she looked out into the shallow water.

Then something caught her attention, further out. It was a bright orange lifejacket. This bothered her, but many kids were wearing lifejackets, but what shocked her most, were the blue dolphin-patterned goggles floating beside it.

"Oh gods! Tyler!" she cried.

Tyler shot up and immediately saw the orange lifejacket, both parents nearly frozen as they saw the inky red coloring snaking it's way to the surface of the water, clouding the blue-green liquid.

"Archie!" Tyler nearly screamed, springing to his feet and dashing into the water, diving under to save his only son.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"What's going on? I want my mommy!" Archie screamed. For some reason, he still had the ability to see and speak underwater, even though the bad-woman was gone.

He was released from the strong current holding him down and he suddenly realized how out of breath he was. Panicking, he struggled and flailed to get at the surface, but then another shape rushing at him out of the black water caught his eye.

He only saw the flash of something golden, wondering if he saw three prongs- like a fork, before someone came crashing into him, pushing him away from the gold. He saw red hair (it was the evil woman!) but then he felt something big slice through his bad heel, red filling the water. He screamed...

And everything went black.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Abigail nearly fainted when Tyler, dripped wet and breathing heavily, came rushing out of the water screaming,

"Someone call 911- please!"

A nearly lifeless Archie was curled in the man's arms. He was pale, far too much for his usual creamy skin, and there was a steady stream of blood flowing form his foot- no- his bad heel!

She was on her cell phone in an instant, as were many other shocked, horrified and worried parents and bystanders. All the other children were being called out of the water, being rushed to their parents' sides and held tightly, thankful it hadn't been their child who had been injured.

Tyler rushed Archie up to their blankets, some people came rushing up telling the frantic couple that they were part-time nurses and instantly tried to wrap the wound, and stop the bleeding. Another was trying to wake Archie up, giving him mouth-to-mouth. He coughed up some red-tinged seawater, but didn't open his eyes.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Out on the water, the head of and elderly man with white hair and beard, a golden crown upon his forehead and a golden trident in his hand came up to try and peek in at the scene. Satisfied that the boy wasn't waking up- therefore he was almost positively doomed to die- he disappeared under the water to punish the nymph that had nearly cost him and the other gods their immortality. But she was gone.

Poseidon sighed angrily, turned, and swam back to his underwater palace.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Archie shuddered, leaning back against Tulais's thick, and at the moment, comforting coat and took a few shaky breaths. He hadn't relived that memory in such a long time; the dull throbbing in his heel seemed to have escalated back into the mind-splitting pain he had felt in that accident.

"They never f-found out w-what happened to m-me. I w-was so s-scared by the whole thing I-I blocked it out o-of m-my mind for y-years," Archie finished.

"So you associate the water with that accident- with death and betrayal now, don't you," Tulais growled rather gently. Archie was yet again surprised by the different emotions the demon seemed capable of.

He slowed down his breathing rate, to try and calm himself down, "I- I guess. I haven't gone near water since- I just keep beginning to remember that day... and..." he trailed off, curling his knees up to his chest.

Tulais curled his head around, sniffing Archie, "If I'm not mistaken, you have been in salty water not too long ago. It's still fairly fresh on your shorts." The mortal didn't even recall when the demon had gotten up and sat down beside him.

Archie's eyes widened in response. The demon was right! He _had_ gone swimming recently- and he hadn't even thought of the 'accident'.

"Well, yeah... but I-I don't know. It was Atlanta who-"

He felt Tulais's sides shake and a throaty, rumbling sound came form the demon's grinning jaws. Tulais was laughing- really, actually laughing!

"What?" he snapped, his fear suddenly forgotten now that the demon had confused him with yet _another_ un-demonic emotion.

"You really do love her. You are willing to go through your deepest, darkest fear so long as it means she'll be by your side!"

Archie looked away, not sure if he was embarrassed, feeling guilty because Tulais was right, or feeling angry that he had been so easy to read. He elbowed Tulais in the side.

"Be quiet," he muttered.

Tulais's laughing stopped, but Archie could still feel his sides quivering through the thick fur.

"It's late out," the demon yawned, letting out a slight chuckle as he did so.

Archie nodded slowly, the effects of the earlier battle and the after-math of his deepest fear had completely exhausted him. He leaned back against Tulais and closed his eyes, falling asleep...

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Yay! Another update!

So, yes, I'm sorry this one was mainly just a flashback, and we (hopefully) should be getting back to the others soon... but they're boring right now and Archie and Tulais are WAY more interesting (in my opinion) ;)

I know that when we first met Thetis- I said she had blue-black hair, but as you can see, I've changed it to red. I also edited that part in the previous chapter (The True Prophecy, I believe it was) unless... well, we could just say she got it dyed while she was hiding out, but what-the-hey, red hair just works better all around.

Wow, Archie's parents have names! If you noticed- I continued with the 'named-after-their-ancestor' tradition in Class of the Titans. TulaisTyler, AbigailAchilles... and then Archie is just special ;D

Constructive criticism is strongly encouraged.

Compliments will be used to fuel ego (haha, not really)

Flames/spam and junk will be pondered upon, and then laughed at

Demenior


	21. Omens

Demons Within Me

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

Warnings: Crazy dreams that actually do have a point later on in the future. Atlanta's being her creepy ponder-over-Archie self again.

Pairings: same as always. More hints at Archie/Atlanta

Authors Note: …I'm back!

Chapter 21: Omens

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Jay stretched out on the green sofa, sipping some coco while he woke up. Surprisingly, it appeared he'd slept in today and everyone else was either still sleeping or gone out without him. Not really feeling like getting in touch with reality just yet, Jay hadn't bothered to call them. He leaned his head back lazily and opened his eyes.

Only to jump up a few moments later when he saw Archie standing above him.

"A-Archie! When did you get back?" he cried, barely registering the scalding burns he was getting on his abdomen from his now-spilled coco.

"Archie never did return," Archie growled in a deeper, throatier voice, like Tulais', "instead, I've returned to finish off what Tulais started so long ago…"

"And what's that?" Jay was slowly stepped backwards, never taking his eyes off Archie while he headed for the stairs- his sword was in his room, though he hoped he wouldn't have to use it.

"To destroy the gods. To be rid of useless species like mankind. You should have never trusted me, Jay, because now you will die for your foolishness!"

Without warning Archie lunged forwards and tackled Jay to the ground. Jay yelped in surprised and kicked and punched at Archie. Archie grabbed his hands and, holding them away from Jay's face so he couldn't protect himself, he smiled darkly.

"Never trust a demon, Jay. We are only creatures of darkness, belong to the shadow. We'll kill without regret and I'll kill everyone you care about," as Archie spoke Jay could see the long fangs in his mouth, and Archie's voice echoed around him- almost accompanied by a female voice but Jay had no time to worry about that.

"I've killed your friends while you slept, and they screamed but you did not hear them. I drank their blood and you did not come to their aid. What kind of leader are you?"

Jay nearly threw up as a slideshow of images of his friends, still lying in their beds, lay with their faces twisted in silent screams and their bodies in massacre. He closed his eyes and tried not to think about it, but it seemed that even with his eyes clamped shut he could still see everything clearly.

It was no longer Archie above him, it was Tulais. The demon laughed and then lunged forwards, fangs barred.

It was Tulais!

It was Archie!

It was Tulais!

No, Archie, no Tulais, Archie, Tulais, Archie, Tulais!

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Jay screamed and rolled out of his bed. Gasping for breath, he clutched his throat to find it was still in tact. He rolled onto his back, still tangled in his sweat-soaked sheets. Strangely, he heard Archie's warning by his ear one last time,

'Never trust a demon.'

Shakily, he looked up but didn't see anything. With a half-conscious effort, Jay pulled himself up and out of his sheets, wearing only his dark blue boxers, and went for his door. Strangely, it was ajar and Jay always left his door closed. Taking a deep breath, he stepped back, grabbed his faithful xiphos, and lunged into the hall.

It was dark and peaceful like it normally was. Senses still in a frenzy, Jay made his way around and checked in on everyone. They were still curled up in their beds, sound asleep and not having nightmares like he had, except for Atlanta. He knew she was still awake, since he could hear her tossing and turning in her room. Jay didn't want to explain why he was going around at some ungodly hour of the morning so he didn't open the door and instead went back to his room.

Crawling into his blankets took some more effort than usual, but after some tossing and turning of his own, he fell asleep again without any more strange dreams.

Unfortunately, in the dark, he failed to notice the peacock feather lying almost completely under his bed, dropped by the goddess who had been using the power of 'dream persuasion' on the poor boy.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Archie was standing in a field. No, a valley. There wee mountains all around him, blocking off any entrances or exits like a huge fence he'd never be able to climb over. And above, the sky was a swirling mass of color- blue, pink, indigo, orange, red, grey, and white. Every color that would appear in the sky at one point or another seemed to be fighting- or joining- right above him.

Then, something broke through the clouds. But it wasn't _something_, it was nothing. It had no color. No shape, no sound- and yet Archie knew it was there. It wasn't even the darkest black, since that would give it a color, but it was simply Nothing.

The Nothingness swirled over him, wiping out the sky and the earth as it enveloped everything. Archie felt himself becoming a part of the nothingness, but it pulled away sharply. He was the only thing left in the nothing.

"H-hello?" his voice sounded… it didn't even sound. This was nothing, and though his body was still there, he was nothing as well. Yet, he was sure nothing heard him, but it didn't reply because nothing has no voice, and the reply that he got was non-existent, but he heard it all the same.

"My warrior. The time to fight is nearly upon you. Don't be afraid, but do my bidding. Beware my son- for he shall kill you."

"Warrior? Time to fight? Who is you son?" Archie 'didn't' call.

"My son shall kill you"

The nothing began to recede and Archie was able to see the ground around him again. Violently, a streak of the sky lashed out and pushed nothing back.

"Don't believe the liar! I speak the truth! Give the immortality to me! I will reward you!"

"What's going on?" Archie cried, startled by the sound of his own voice after 'hearing' nothing.

The ground began to shake and he heard an angry cry, whether it came from nothing or the sky he didn't know anymore. There was a strange pounding in his head, like a heartbeat or a steady drum rhythm, slowly changing into voices shrieking 'Save Us! Save Us!'

Archie clamped his eyes shut and covered his ears, trying to keep the sounds out. He fell to his knees while the earth continued moving around him, swallowing him, and the sky pulled at him from above the nothing encircled him-

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Archie? Wake up, Brat!" Tulais commanded sharply.

Archie sprang up, shaking. It was early morning, the light was just beginning to break through the mountains and treetops and dazzle up the woods as it shone through dewdrops. His and Tulais' breath became mist in the cooler air. Archie shivered and leaned back on Tulais.

"A dream?" the demon growled.

Archie nodded slowly, "A really crazy nightmare…" he shivered as he drew up his knees to his chest, "I-I was told that someone's son was going to k-kill me."

Tulais sighed, "Well, that could be anyone really. Every man is one mans' son. Who told you this?"

Archie looked at the demon strangely. He felt like he had grown closer to Tulais over the course of their questions, and the fact that they were kin, but still he couldn't imagine why or how the demon was capable of so many different emotions.

"Why do you care?" he found himself snapping. Good old anger- unfortunately, this particular ancestor of his was also a deep well of furry (and even Achilles was- no wonder he couldn't control his anger all the time!)

Tulais barred his teeth, "If you haven't forgotten, Brat, I was once human as well." Tulais looked away from Archie and down to his paws.

"I don't know entirely sure why the gods did this to me. Why would Aphrodite's allow me to fall in love with the woman I could never have? Where on earth I got the stupid idea in my head to try and charm Atalanta with the forms of beasts, I do not know. All I know is it was almost out of my power to resist, like I was being controlled by the gods themselves," He chuckled lightly, "but even though they have taken away my body I will not ever let them take away my humanity. I can still feel human emotion- it's just the demons' rage is usually stronger."

He turned and looked Archie in the eyes and Archie found he couldn't hold Tulais' gaze for very long.

Finally, Tulais rose to his feet, "Do you want to return to your… comrades and your Atlanta just yet?"

Seeing Archie's cheeks become a light shade of pink at the words 'your Atlanta' Tulais smiled, though it didn't really look like a smile Archie knew it was. He stood up and lightly punched Tulais in the shoulder.

"Not just yet… it's too early," Archie yawned; he didn't want to face the others so soon after leaving.

Tulais crouched down, "Then get on my back. There's a nice clearing that I can train you in."

Archie swung himself onto Tulais's back, holding onto the black goat horns and then asked, "Training?"

"Yes- you fight worse than a she-child!" Tulais laughed as he sprinted off, catching Archie off guard and nearly throwing the mortal off his back.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Atlanta, after getting some sleep, woke up and got out of bed. Worry for Archie quickly flooded her senses and she went to her closet, pulling out his hoodie that he had given to her when Tulais had nearly ripped her shirt off in the battle a few days ago. She'd gotten it washed so now it wasn't all bloody and sweat-smelling, but it still smelled like Archie. She almost giggled when she thgouht of what Archie or any of the others would think if they knew she was keeping this.

Sitting down on the edge of her bed she held the hoodie like a child would hold it's 'blankie'- arms wrapped tight around it and face half-buried in the fabric. She took a deep breath and then lay down, still hugging the hoodie close.

Archie was going to be okay. He and Tulais were family- but what if they didn't know that? Although, Archie was also the descendant of Tulais' best friend- that would help. She wished Archie would walk in through the front door right now and she'd rush up and tackle him with a fierce hug. She'd tell him she wanted to be more than just friends- maybe not really dating yet, but she never wanted to leave him again. Whether it was love or not, she had no idea. The only other time she'd felt so strange would have been when she had been hypnotized by Pan.

Then, even if she did tell Archie she liked him- how long would their relationship last? Did Archie even like her as much as she liked him? Did he feel the same way about her? He had almost kissed her- but wasn't that what most boys wanted? And to add to that- Archie was a 'Demonspawn' and maybe he wouldn't feel as attached to them (the gang) anymore and might go find someone else. Maybe he'd lose the relationships he already had on the team just because he was the descendant of a demon. She shivered and curled around the hoodie.

Slowly… Atlanta fell asleep again, still worried for her 'missing' _friend_.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Alright, kids, time to wake up! It's noon and Cronus is coming this way!" Ares called up the stairs.

There were muffled (because of the closed doors) yells from seven different kids and many thuds were heard as they rolled/fell out of bed and went in a mad scramble to get dressed and reasonably attractive for the day.

They tripped over each other down the stairs and burst into the living room to find Athena curled up on the couch, laughing terribly hard while Ares laughed from the recliner chair.

"Where? Where is he?" Jay demanded, panting hard.

"Nowhere!" Ares burst out, "I just needed you squirts to wake up before noon!" he started howling with laughter again, slapping his knee.

Scowls and groans passed across the faces of the six children.

Athena managed to regain her composure slightly, "W-well it's a g-good thing to s-see you all d-dedicated!" she fought back bursting into laughter again.

Odie sighed, "Well, I do have some homework I should get done and- It's Almost Noon? What About School?" he shrieked in a near panic.

"You've been excused for the da- where's Archie? Don't tell me the lazy oaf slept through that racket at you all made?" Ares commented.

Jay shook his head.

"He went with Tulais- but he'll be back soon," Herry told them. Ares and Athena stopped laughing immediately. Both gods almost seemed to pale, but regained themselves.

Jay spoke before they could begin to accuse them again, "He agreed to, and Hera told us just to wait at home. We made a deal and I won't go back on it." But even as Jay spoke, he was remembering how angry he'd gotten at Archie down in the cavern last night, knowing that Archie had been hiding something. Had Archie known all along that he was the descendant of Tulais? What other secrets did he know that he wasn't telling him? And his scary dream… were they all omens that he couldn't trust Archie?

"I-I'm hungry, I'm going to go have some breakfast," Theresa said after a moment, breaking the tension in the air.

"You mean brunch, right?" Neil commented as he followed after her.

There was a follow fairly relieved giggles from the rest of the group as they followed after Neil and Theresa. Atlanta and Jay waited a moment longer than the rest, wondering different things. Atlanta was curious about why the gods seemed so worried about Tulais being around Archie even if they knew he wouldn't get hurt. Jay was wondering jus how much they'd be able to trust Archie if- when- he returned.

That day was spent relaxing and lazing around the living room. Jay and Herry hosted a 'Foosball Championship for the Ages' and everyone got to compete in best-out-of-three matches against each other all afternoon. Surprisingly enough, the final contestants were Odie and Neil and sadly, brains still couldn't match with the strength of Neil's pure, 'dumb' luck and Neil was the new Champion.

It was near the evening, while they were all curled up on the couches, chairs and the floor chatting like old, childhood friends, when they heard the door open and a tentative:

"Hello? Anyone home?"

"Archie!" Atlanta cried, springing up and rushing to the door.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Wow… out of all the chapters, I think this one is my least favorite x.x

It just didn't want to be written right form the beginning- but it got done what it needed too, and maybe it isn't working thanks to this killer headache I've been suffering.

Anyways, Demons is looking to be ending fairly soon, sorry guys, but I hope this chapter fills you for now.

Please review, it's appreciated!

Demenior


	22. Hidden

Demons Within Me

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

Warnings: Anger. A near-fight… Jay's being waaaaay Out-Of-Character (but it has a purpose)

Pairings: Archie/Atlanta, Jay/Theresa/Neil

Authors Note: Sorry for the long wait guys. 'Demons' …just kinda… DIED on me. Unfortunately, I think I've fallen into what I like to call: 'A Creative Slump' where I can't come up with any cool idea for the life of me, and I can't write/draw anything good/worth anything either.

Chapter 22: Hidden

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Archie!" Atlanta cried, springing up and rushing for the door.

Archie's face broke into a smile as Atlanta rushed at him with her inhuman speed and nearly tackled him over with a hug.

"Hey 'Lan, you still in one piece?" he smiled, giving her a hug back. Tulais really did have insight on their relationship, and if the demon was right, then maybe she truly feel the same way he did about her. They had almost kissed…

Archie and Atlanta pulled away before anyone could see them lingering in the hug. Just as they did so, Jay, followed by Theresa, Odie, Herry and lastly Neil, in that order, walked around the corner to greet Archie.

There was a strained silence. Everyone was eyeing Archie suspiciously, Hera's words from the other day still ringing clearly in their minds, and Jay's dream was like a vivid memory continuing right before his minds eye constantly.

"You're… back… earlier than we thought," Jay broke the silence, choosing his words carefully. He knew that everyone wanted to know if Archie knew he was the descendant of a demon- especially Tulais. And if he didn't know, it was a juicy secret and they were eager to spill it. Not for the sake of hurting Archie, but for the sake of knowing something 'special' about one of their own teammates.

"I… we… talked late," Archie replied slowly, trying to understand why his teammates were being so reserved. Even Atlanta seemed to have recalled something and was a step away from him.

"Where's Tulais?" Herry asked.

"Not sure. He brought me to the park a few blocks away and left," Archie shrugged.

"Anything you can tell us about him. For when he shows up again?" Jay said, keeping his face as stern as he could.

"No, just that he knew Odysseus as well. How well I don't know though," Archie eyed Jay warily. What was his 'Leader' hiding from him. Did they think he had turned on them? Or maybe they were all in on Hera's plot to kill him! Archie's eyes widened and he paled considerably.

"Archie? Are you okay?" Theresa asked immediately.

"What are you guys hiding?" he snapped. How could he have shown weakness to them, if they were going to kill him?

Jay's eyes narrowed, "The better question is, Archie, what are you hiding from us?"

Archie raised an eyebrow. What did Jay mean by that? Did Hera know he knew about her ploy to be rid of him, that he had been 'snooping' around when she'd been talking to Ares? Or- no, no they couldn't- did they know about his demonic lineage?

"Archie?" Jay demanded louder, "tell us what you do know about you and Tulais."

There were gasps in the group as everyone realized what Jay was aiming at- Archie knew he was a descendant of Tulais!

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Archie took a step back to the door, ready to run if Jay posed any sort of threat. Then, he felt the familiar burn of anger in his gut and pushed away his panic. A warrior (or demon) _never_ ran away from a fight, and he was no different. For a moment, Archie saw something akin to fear pass through Jay's eyes as he took a stance that was close to his fighting one, meaning he was ready to fight at any opportunity.

Is he going to attack? What if he hurts the-my- what if he hurts my team? What if my dream really was a warning? Jay didn't notice his breaths getting lighter and faster, but he was startled when his voice commanded loudly,

"Atlanta, get back here, now!"

Shocked, the redhead in question turned to look at him, and back to Archie, but as she did so Jay found himself letting out another order,

"Now!"

Confused, and almost frightened by Jay's sudden intensity, Atlanta took another step back from Archie and soon found herself beside Theresa, staring on like the rest of them with wide eyes. There was another battle going on in their group and they hadn't seen it- how long had Jay and Archie been enemies?

"How long, Archie," Jay growled slowly, "how long have you known you were the direct descendant of Tulais?"

Archie's eyes widened even more, if that was possible, but he took on his complete fighting stance as Jay took a step forwards, "How did you find out?" he nearly cried.

"How long?" Jay repeated in the same foreboding slow tone.

"A-a while. Now tell me how you found out!" Archie was on the brink of panic and rage, not a good place to be.

"Hera told us."

"She knows?"

"That's why she brought you here. To keep an eye on you-"

To **kill** me! Archie wanted to scream, but he held his tongue as he watched Jay. Something had his Leader spooked beyond reasoning, and it was all too obvious that it must have something to do with him, Archie.

The panic and rage and other emotions conflicting within Archie were almost too much to bear and he wasn't thinking straight anymore, "So you're going to 'keep an eye one me' too? Or are you going to kick me out because that's what Hera told you too? I know she and all the gods hate Tulais, so they probably hate me too, and since you're Hera's little suck-up you'll turn everyone against me, right?"

Jay's face, once stern and almost scared, morphed into a scowl of anger and he eyed Archie ferociously, "What did you say? I am _not_ a suck up you… you…" Jay held his tongue from spitting out the word he knew he'd regret.

"Say it then. I dare you to say it," Archie growled, looking ready top spring at any moment.

Jay seized up, like he was going to drop the fight, but Archie had called him a suck up, and that was one thing Jay knew for _sure_ he wasn't.

"You Demonspawn!"

Anger released, Jay and Archie sprang at each other, barely understanding how much their own fear was controlling them into a fight.

"Stop it!" Theresa screamed. There was a loud 'whoosh' like a gust of wind and both Jay and Archie were thrown to the floor, invisible hands holding them down.

"Stop fighting- both of you! This is ridiculous! When has it ever been okay to fight between us? Look, Archie, we know you're part demon, but you always have been- so I think there hasn't been any change. And as for you Jay- I have no idea why you're acting so… so… out of character! This is insane!" she finished, storming off angrily. Neil took one looks to the two angry boys on the ground, and back in the direction that Theresa had gone, and took off after the female.

It was still a few minutes later when Theresa probably ran out of energy and released Archie and Jay from their mental bindings and they could get to their feet. In those few moments they had both calmed down to a point, but were avoiding each other's eyes.

Jay honestly didn't know what was happening to him. He felt like he was at his wit's end trying to understand how to trust Archie, never turn his back on a demon, be Leader a team, remember that demons liked to kill, trust what Hera had told him, and know that none of it seemed very true right now. He was so confused, he needed to talk to Theresa… but she was so angry. He sighed and lowered his shoulders. Without meeting Archie's eyes he brushed past him and walked out the door.

Only to come in seconds later and grab his shoes, but then he left for good.

Archie kept his eyes on his feet and didn't look up to see the gazes of everyone else. Finally, though rather surprisingly, it was Odie who spoke up first, "So, Archie… do you know the extent of your… 'other' blood yet?"

Archie shook his head, and then remembered something, "Well… I can heal quickly."

Odie nodded slowly, "That would explain why the wounds you got form Tulais healed up so quickly."

Archie looked up, blinking in surprise. He hadn't thought of that. Wait- he still had the books in his room. He could learn some more!

"I- I need to be alone," he told Herry, Odie and Atlanta. He didn't meet Atlanta's gaze as he walked past her, he knew he'd probably spill all of the dark secrets he was holding right now if she even asked him 'what's wrong'.

Herry opened his mouth to say something, but didn't and waited until Archie had gone into the living room and the all winced at the loud thud that followed seconds later, accompanied by Archie's yell.

"Since when was there a foosball table in the middle of the room?"

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Jay blinked away the tears that were threatening to fall, his vision of the sidewalk was blurring. He didn't understand, it was so confusing.

Hera had told him that all demons were bad- and none of them would ever be good because that was why they had become demons. Yet Archie was a demon (part demon) and he was good. Jay shook his head, shoving his hands deeper into his pockets. Why couldn't anything ever just be easy for him? It was hard enough that he had to think about Cronus all the time, and now he had to worry about Archie and Tulais as well.

Keeping his head down, he kept at a light jog towards the school. Jay nearly threw open the doors to the school and flew to the Janitor's Closet. He ripped the medallion from around his neck and forcefully pushed it into the strangely shaped lock. The lock seemed to take it's time ticking into place, and he pulled open the door, taking his medallion, and stormed inside, slamming the door shut behind him. He yanked down the cord attached to the 'light' on the ceiling and the wall in front of him became the portal to the Titan Wing.

Jay took a deep breath to try and regain his composure somewhat. He was shaken up beyond belief on the inside, but managed to look fairly calm as he quickly strode thrugh the halls to a familiar room. Hermes tried to say hello as he went past, but the messenger was ignored.

Opening Hera's door, Jay stepped inside.

"Hera?" he asked wearily.

She looked up from where she had been tending to some plants, "Jay? What is it?"

Jay kept himself as calm as he could, but he was already giving into the childish fear and tears inside of himself, "A-Archie's back and I had this d-dream and I… I'm so confused." He was shaking on his feet. Hera immediately came to him, wrapping a comforting arm around his shoulders and leading him to a chair where he sat down, breaths hitching slightly.

"You can tell me everything, Jay. But first, how is Archie?" Hera said in a kind tone that, had Jay been more aware, he might've detected the manipulative tone embedded in her kindness.

"I- I don't know if he's sided with Tulais. He knew he was a D-Demonspawn before y-you told u-us. He s-seems to s-still be good…"

"What does your instinct tell you?" Hera whispered.

"I don't know," Jay shook his head, "Tulais and Archie don't seem like the demons you warned me about at all, and I don't know what to make of them. You told me never to trust demons and yet you knew all along that Archie was the descendant of a demon and I still think of him as a demon but now every time he looks at someone I expect him to attack them like you said demons you and-"

"Hush. You're worried Jay, but you are thinking clearly. For now, Archie is on your side, but like all demons he will feel the bloodlust and then he must leave… or be disposed of. Athena will be staying at the dorm more to protect you, but I don't think Archie will attack just yet. Good boy though, you remembered all that I told you. Never trust a demon- or he will kill you and all your friends like in your dream. Now, go take a walk before you go home and clear your mind a little."

Jay nodded and got to his feet, "Thank you, Hera," he smiled. Slower than before, he left the school and was taking his time getting home when a thought struck him.

He hadn't told Hera anything about his dream.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Wow, I still can update XD

So, here we have Archie back and he and Jay are at each other's throats again, Theresa used her powers (sadly) for the first time in this story. Also, we see that Jay IS a bit like a little puppet Hera is using- but he doesn't even realize it and he's also starting to figure out some things on his own.

And hey, lookit that! I tried to add in some much-needed humor. Sadly, I can't use humor at all.

Demenior


	23. Blood

Demons Within Me

Disclaimer: see previous chapters

Warnings: uhh… blood. Violence, action, possible character death. The works.

Parings: Archie/Atlanta, they're mainly the only ones in this chapter

Authors Note: Umm, not much. Thanks for the awesome feedback on the previous chapter! Sorry it's taken so long. Hopefully this longer chapter will make up for my lack of posting.

That's right- this chapter is LONGER than usual.

Chapter 23: Blood

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Archie lay curled up on his bed, safe, in his familiar room. It felt like forever since he'd been in here, yet it had barely been over a day. He was leafing through some of the books he'd taken from the library the day he had snuck in and heard Hera talking about killing him, and that the gods _were_ going to get rid of him. He shuddered and forced himself to get lost in the pages of the books, retaining as much information as he could.

Slowly his thoughts drifted back to his argument earlier with Jay. It proved just how paranoid and frightened he was getting because of the gods plot to kill him. He needed to think clearly. Calm down and think clearly. The gods weren't going to try and kill him until a_fter_ Cronus had been captured and returned to Tartarus. He had that long (considering they could never really come up with a workable plan to capture Cronus) to figure out how he was going to prevent his own death. It was easy to guess that no one else would believe him- Atlanta might be sympathetic for a while but in the end she'd tell him to stop fooling around.

Archie sighed and leaned his head back against the wall. He closed his eyes and breathed deep calming down again. He felt better as he turned his head and looked out into the dark sky then realized he had been reading for quite a while! His gaze flickered up to the bright moon, and momentarily he wondered where Tulais was and how the demon was fairing. Archie let his shoulders relax when he recalled Jay's words,

"You Demonspawn!"

So much had happened over the past few days- it was insane. Archie could still clearly remember training with Atlanta, knocking her down to save her from that bolo which wouldn't have even hit her, and feeling so awkward when Jay and Theresa had walked in on them. At most, that had only been four days ago.

He recalled actually going into the water and playing with the gang the very next day. They had all been so blissfully unaware of the future and happy, laughing and cheering each other on.

Then he'd had those dreams, which had really started this entire downward spiral. It was almost unbelievable, that only a few days ago they had been laughing and playing together, and now tensions were strained and his life, at least, was changed forever.

He couldn't imagine the gang going out and laughing like they usually did, not after all this. Especially Jay… Archie didn't think he and his Leader would ever make up.

Archie stretched his legs out, abandoning any thought of trying to get any information from the books he'd taken from the library. All he'd gotten as that there was some sort of legend about a demon, but legends weren't real, right?

Then again, everything that had happened these past six months was completely unreal. But who could he turn to to tell him anything? His teammates? No, not now at least. Definitely not the gods…

Of course- the Oracle!

Okay, he'd go see the Oracle soon. Archie shuddered at the thought, he didn't really like the creepy old man (was it really a man?) who ate sushi and just sat at the newsstand all day long. Well, it that was the case, why not just see him/it tonight?

He felt like he was in a mood to run, to let loose some anger and frustration and other emotions welling up inside of him. He got off his bed and headed for the door before remembering he didn't have his ankle brace on. There was a moment of hesitation, but he decided he didn't need it for a simple run, besides; his ankle could use some air and it wasn't feeling at all bothersome tonight.

Archie trotted down the stairs and was buckling his sandals on when a familiar pair of sock-covered feet stopped in front of him.

"You're not running away, are you?" Atlanta asked worriedly.

Archie looked up, "No way. I just need to go for a run to… clear my head." He felt bad about lying to Atlanta, but no one needed to know that he was going to see the Oracle- they'd want to know why.

Atlanta nodded, "Arch… you know that Jay- that everyone- is just a little freaked out right now. Everything will be okay, nothing's changed, right?"

Yeah right, 'Lan. _Everything's_ changed. Fighting Cronus isn't such a game anymore- now it's hit so much closer to home because of my ancestors. Nothing will ever be okay.

But for her sake, he gave her a half-hearted smile and then finished buckling his sandals, "I'll be back soon, kay?"

She nodded slowly, "Alright."

Archie stood up and left, slowly. Part of him wanted to run away and never see any of these people again- he might live if he ran, another part knew he had to stay because he would never abandon anyone. Another part wanted to ask, even beg, Atlanta to go with him so then he could tell her how he felt abut her and get her answer and finally tell someone all his secrets, but the final part knew that his secrets would crush her.

So Archie left the Brownstone and broke into a light jog, heading to see the Oracle. He knew the way fairly well, after spending nearly half a year running around this city fighting giant monsters. He allowed himself to move on auto drive, ignoring the few looks he got from the late-night people who were wandering the streets. He was so lost in a calm state of mind, not really thinking about anything at all, and having a momentary breath of peace without worrying over anything, that he almost didn't notice the other presence coming up behind him.

Instinct (and perhaps demon blood?) made him swerve on his heel, in an attack position. But he relaxed as soon as he realized Atlanta had followed him.

"Alright 'Lan, I know you're there," he called.

He heard a sigh of defeat and she stepped out form behind the alleyway nearby, "How'd you know?"

"You make too much noise and I saw you in the corner of my eye," he said proudly.

Atlanta shrugged, "Okay. I… I was wondering where you were going- it's to the Oracle, isn't it." she already knew the answer; it was more of a statement. Archie nodded and turned to begin walking again, so she caught up to him.

"What are you going to ask?" she wondered aloud. There had been a few times when they had all gone to visit the Oracle on their own time, and it was really interesting (and a bit of gossip) between the gang if anyone knew/could guess at what someone was asking. No one ever told anyone what they were asking about, but it was natural curiosity, so Archie didn't have to reply.

It was kind of funny, the little customs here and there that had set themselves up within the group. The Oracle was only one of them. There was being 'the best' in combat training with Ares or being the one with the answer in a mission- just something to have an edge on the others. All of them were little rivalries here and there, or the gang just trying to be normal. Archie briefly wondered if anything would come up about his demon blood.

They were just rounding the corner to where the Oracle sat at his newspaper stand with his sushi, all day and night, when Atlanta stopped and leaned against the building. Archie nodded to her, thankful that she was kind enough to stay out of earshot for something he obviously wanted to be personal.

He took a deep breath and walked towards the Oracle alone. The streetlights along the road were flickering on and off and a slight mist had crawled across the ground. Archie almost wanted to laugh at the all-too-cliché movie scene unfolding, but the seriousness of the questions he wanted answered calmed the nervous laughter inside of him.

The Oracle loomed up out of the darkness and Archie took another breath to calm his nerves, and stepped forwards. He opened his mouth to speak when the Oracle spoke first- which Archie hadn't ever really heard of before.

"Trust wisely, and have deep faith, young Godslay'r, for your loyalties are to be stretched soon. Have your devotion, even when the sky comes crashing down upon you, have loyalty."

Archie stood, stunned at the Oracle's words. Young Godslayer? GODSLAYER? What on earth could the Oracle be thinking? No one could kill the gods-

Flint-blue eyes widened in shock as he recalled that day when he'd snuck into the god's library and overheard Hera talking to Ares.

"You remember his other name, don't you?"

Godslayer. That's what Hera had meant back then.

"That Demonspawn will be better off once he's dead!"

_That_ was why they wanted to kill him- to save themselves! But how- why- would Archie want to kill the gods? Sure, he'd get really angry sometimes, but he'd never wanted to kill anyone.

"What…" Archie stopped himself there. He knew the Oracle wouldn't explain itself, "what… do you know of the prophesy- the one that includes the seven heroes."

"Have loyalty," the Oracle repeated. Archie began feeling frustrated and opened his mouth to repeat his own question, but the Oracle silenced him with a wave of his hand and Archie knew that was all he was going to get out of the strange psychic. With one last glare back at the Oracle, Archie turned and stalked back to Atlanta. She was waiting rather patiently, though eager to see whether he might possibly share what he'd learned with her, or see that some weight had been lifted off himself by what the oracle had told him. But the scowl and confusion on his face only proved that he was more troubled than ever.

Atlanta fell in line with him while they made their way back to the Brownstone. She remained silent, knowing Archie was trying to sort out what new (troubling) information he'd received from the Oracle. The only sound on the streets was that of their footfalls, and the occasional dog rummaging through trash or angry cry from inside an apartment from arguing spouses.

Archie was confused and angry beyond belief. He just wanted to live as normal a life as he could, after fighting an evil Titan, and not have to deal with all this prophesy and double-intentions crap and being spurned just because of his ancestor. He felt sick to his gut and almost like he wanted to break into tears, sob into Atlanta's shoulder, and blurt everything out, all the secrets he'd learned and all the questions he had. Yet, he remained silent.

"Archie… do you want to go in?" Atlanta asked. Archie blinked and realized that they were back at the Brownstone. He swallowed the urge to rush to his room and hide from everything, and shook his head.

"Stroll through the park?" his voice sounded raspy and foreign, like he hadn't spoken in ages and it rang loudly in the night. Atlanta nodded and they walked together again, side by side. Even though he couldn't tell her everything that was going on, at the moment, his only saving grace was Atlanta's mere presence and the fact that she seemed to be the only one who didn't hate him or treat him differently because of his lineage secret.

They reached the park and it was as still and quiet as the streets, maybe even more. Unconcioussly, they both walked a bit closer to each other for comfort. No breeze rippled the large pond in the middle, or the trees creating the large forest covering most of the park. The moonlight shone brightly, like the sun, and illuminated everything.

Trust wisely, have deep, deep faith… the Oracle's words rang sharply in his head.

"Atlanta," he began quietly, "do… do you still trust me? Even… even if I am…"

"A Demonspawn?" interrupted a terribly familiar voice.

Archie and Atlanta whirled around, both upset that they hadn't noticed Cronus sneak up on them.

The Titan of Time was standing behind them, scythe held loosely in his right hand.

"I was wondering when Hera would get around to telling you. Pity you won't live to 'honor' your bloodline," Cronus chuckled, advancing step-by-step on the two unprepared and unarmed teens.

Realizing that they hadn't brought their weapons and the fact that no one else knew where they were, Archie and Atlanta began to slowly edge away.

The grin on Cronus's face spread and he nodded to something behind them, Archie and Atlanta both dared a glance over their shoulders to see the three giants that usually accompanied Cronus circling them from behind.

Without a word, Archie and Atlanta moved into their fighting stances, both nearly standing on their toes and arms up. Almost like they had been training together for years instead of a few months, they stood back-to-back to face all of the enemies.

"What luck," Cronus continued, "that while I was out on a nightly stroll through this miserable town, I stumble upon two unsuspecting brats."

"So do you want to try and get rid of us- or are you going to stand there and talk?" Atlanta taunted.

Cronus scowled, "You'll be the first to die!" he lunged forwards with such warning that any other person wouldn't have had time to attack. But Atlanta wasn't just any person, she was Atlanta- fastest girl in the world- and she just managed to dodge out of the way of the scythe. Archie dove forwards as well, not as fast, and recovered in time to turn his dive into a roll so he was back up on his feet and running at the giants immediately.

The large brutes, though they'd fought the seven teens many times already, were still caught off guard by Archie's speed and Atlanta's lightning-fast movements. Archie had already delivered a kick to one of the giants' unfortunate chins by the time they realized they were under attack.

Agnon, the only one Archie knew of who was named and the apparent leader of the giants reached out, grabbed him while he was still in mid-air, and threw him at the ground.

Archie hit, hard, but fortunately Agnon hadn't thrown him directly to the ground, so the force sent him skidding on the cement path, rather than splatting on it. That didn't mean there was no pain though. For a brief moment, everything had been engulfed by a blinding white light and a searing pain that made him sick to his stomach. But as the light receded, the pain became more focused on his right side and his head. He lay in a trembling heap for seconds, catching his breath, when he felt the vibration of large feet running towards him. Acting on instinct alone, Archie rolled to the side as a massive fist slammed down where he had just been lying.

Once again, Archie rolled to his feet and wavered, he cursed when he saw the droplets of blood speckling the path following his roll. He didn't have time to check his injuries as Agnon lunged at him again. Archie sprang into the air and landed on the giants back. Using his momentum, he shot off Agnon's back and punched another giant in the face, wincing as he felt some fingers dislocate, and then kicked off that giant. He twisted in the air and kicked Agnon in the head, brining down his full weight on the giant to unbalance it and send the beast falling to the ground.

Archie jumped off Agnon and turned to face the other giants. Adrenaline was coursing through his veins, so he didn't really feel any of his injuries at the moment, and he felt truly alive. In battle, there was no time for error, no time to think about all the weird stuff that was happening in his life, and only about the opponent and staying alive. Some of the giants seemed more wary of him, seeing as he moved faster than they could, but knew that he didn't have enough strength to really hurt them at once, so that gave them hope.

Archie jumped, turned and twisted in ways he'd never have thought he could in real life, but in a fight, he felt he could do anything. Before he knew what had happened, he had actually knocked one giant out cold and the rest were far more fearful of him now. Then, Atlanta screamed.

Archie spun on his heel and saw her collapse to the ground, hands flying to the deep wound on her leg.

"Atlanta!" he hadn't even realized he was moving until his fist connected with Cronus's face. There was a painful surge up his arm and he remembered his possibly dislocated fingers, but only for a moment. The next thing he knew, he was dodging Cronus's scythe and felt it skim his ear. Archie regained his balance and gave his head a shake to get the stray trails of blood to stop dripping in his eyes. He barely managed to duck under Cronus's next swing and then braced his legs against the ground and sprang up to tackle the Titan in the chest. Cronus stumbled backwards and Archie took the opportunity to leap into the air and aim his kick at Cronus's collarbone. He hit and the Titan began falling backwards.

Now, whether it was just his imagination, or whether Cronus was effecting time, Archie never did learn, but time slowed down as he recoiled away from Cronus, kicking leg, his right leg, slowly being brought back to his body so he could turn and land on his feet. He was turning when he saw the glint of Cronus's second scythe come down and stab right through his ankle brace.

Right into his heel.

Archie couldn't hold back the anguished scream this time as pain flooded all his senses. The last thing he remembered was seeing the moon, still shining brightly as it faded away to darkness and Atlanta's voice, sounding so far away even though she was only a few steps from him.

"ARCHIE!"

It was droned out by a furious howl…

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Thank care,

Demenior


	24. Companions

Demons Within Me

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

Warnings: Blood, character death, more blood

Pairings: Archie/Atlanta is the main. Jay/Theresa/Neil is on the side when I manage to spare a few brain cells in their direction.

Authors note: Enjoy

Chapter 24: Companions

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Theresa felt warm and comforted. Her eyes were slightly red from crying and babbling on about how stupid Jay could be, not knowing that the whole time she ranted, Neil felt more and more that he was losing her to Jay. Even though, Theresa felt better, she couldn't help but feel certain feelings for the blonde who was holding her in his arms. Jay tended to be a guy, and didn't like physical affection, or even verbal affection for that matter.

Theresa smiled and closed her eyes, enjoying the touch of Neil's hand on her hair and the love in his light touch. Oh, she knew, she knew that both Jay and Neil liked her, but to what extent she didn't know. It was a bit of a shock that Neil would come out of his comfort zone of 'only himself' to like her- or maybe there was an underlying reason that Neil might possibly not even be aware of.

She was about to ask Neil just how much he really liked -possibly loved- her, when her eyes snapped open and she jerked upright.

Neil scowled in annoyance, but when he went to pull her back against him, he found her body stiff and rigid.

"Therri?" he asked worriedly.

But her pupils were dilated so that her eyes were almost black, and they were seeing something beyond the four walls of her room.

_Archie was lying on a bed, his heel was being tended too by Chiron, and he looked like he was in extreme pain. Atlanta stood over him, barely standing and clutching her leg. She had a crutch and some bandages wrapped around her thigh._

_Shaking, Archie held up his hand and took hers. Atlanta said something quickly, but there were no words. She obviously shouted, because Archie winced and Chiron looked up at her with the glare of a man interrupted from an important task._

_Archie whispered something to Atlanta, and her eyes widened and she began yelling again. Archie's hand fell from hers and his eyes closed. Chiron leapt up to check his pulse and…_

_Tulais. Tulais was running along a dark path, moonlight just giving things a silver outlining in the darkness. He leapt over a bench, seemingly leaping at Theresa as if he would fly from the vision and devour her, she screamed, but at the same time, she heard Atlanta screaming and Tulais's furious howl…._

Theresa screamed and Neil immediately pulled her into a hug.

"Theresa, Theresa, calm down! What happened?" he asked soothingly.

She pushed away from him, getting to her feet quickly. Theresa stumbled, as if dizzy, and fell against the door, grabbing for the knob.

"Archie, Atlanta- Tulais, Tulais is going to kill Archie!" she near-shrieked.

Neil got up, "But, isn't Archie his descendant and all?"

"That's what I Saw!" Theresa cried, pushing into the hall and falling against the opposite wall. She stumbled her way down the hallway to Atlanta's room and threw the door open.

No one was there.

Maybe, maybe they were in Archie's room. No, wait. Theresa furrowed her brow, barely hearing Neil come up beside her.

Tulais had leapt over a bench. There had been trees in the background…

"The park!" she exclaimed, "they're at the park!"

"At this hour?" Neil asked to no one. Suddenly noticing Theresa had taken off for the front door, he ran after her and took the stairs three at a time.

Herry and Odie were talking quietly in the living room. When Theresa rushed past, they watched curiously, but when Neil ran past in the same hurry, they leapt to their feet, threw on their shoes, and followed suit.

"What's going on?" Herry asked as he ran to his truck.

"The park- we have to get to the park," Neil replied, "Theresa saw Tulais kill Archie or something like that." He opened the truck door for Theresa, but she had dashed behind the Brownstone into the alley to start up her own car.

Both Herry and Odie paled considerably and leapt into the vehicle. Herry turned the ignition and the engine roared to life. Without waiting for Odie to even sit down properly, Herry sped off onto the road towards the park, gas pedal nearly flat against the floor.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Theresa was just pulling out of the alley; only moments after Herry had shot off, when she heard a familiar shout.

"Therri! Therri! What's going on?"

She snapped her head to the side to see Jay running up to her car with a confused look on his face. Momentarily, she wondered if he'd even care that Archie could be killed right now, after the way he'd acted this morning, but then she scolded herself. This was **Jay** she was talking about, and he'd only been worried for them.

"Archie and Atlanta are in big trouble, hurry!" she called.

Jay leapt into the seat beside her, not pausing to open the door. Theresa sped off right behind Herry in her red convertible.

"So what's going on?" Jay asked, squinting his watering eyes to try and protect them from the wind. Oddly, Theresa found that expression very funny on him and nearly burst out laughing. But the seriousness of loosing one of her friends washed the laughter away.

"I- I had a vision, and I Saw Archie and Atlanta in Chiron's office and Archie said… something to Atlanta, and then he passed out or… I think…" she snuck a glance at Jay out of the corner of her eye and saw that he understood what she meant. Her guess had been right, even though they'd had that big argument when Archie had returned, Jay would never abandon one of his teammates. His eyes were wide and she noticed he was shaking slightly.

"And Jay," she whispered in a low voice, "I… I Saw Tulais, he leapt over and bench and I heard Atlanta screaming and then the vision ended."

"What? Tulais would attack Archie? But- they're kin aren't they?" Jay whipped his head around to face her. Theresa didn't reply but kept her eyes on the road. She didn't know.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Both vehicles arrived at the park around the same time. All five teens leapt out, taking weapons usually stored in Herry's truck for emergencies like this. Surprisingly, Jay had his sword with him (which actually isn't that much of a surprise)

They ran as fast as they could to the park, Theresa barely explaining that they would be somewhere along the path, considering Tulais had leapt over a bench to attack Archie and Atlanta.

Up ahead they heard a loud snarl and agonized cries.

"No!" Theresa shrieked, speeding up to a pace that would even make Archie proud.

The gang rounded the corner and immediately Theresa knew she had been wrong.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

A large form lay limp on the ground, all too soon, they knew it was dead. The other two giants were clutching bleeding wounds on their arms or bellies.

Standing behind them, clutching his own bleeding arm, was Cronus. Even so, the Titan was chuckling loudly.

"You're outnumbered Tulais! Run and hide again, while you still can! You've never cared about anyone before, why start now when it will kill you?"

"Never Cronus! I'm sick of running!" Tulais snarled.

He was standing in front of the still form they could all see was Archie, and Atlanta was collapsed on the ground near Archie. Tulais was breathing heavily and in the bright moonlight, everyone could see the deep gnashes in his sides and the blood dripping onto the ground through his thick coat. Surprisingly, one of his horns had snapped and what was left was barely half. There was gore around his mouth and it was him who had obviously killed the giant.

"Archie, Atlanta!" Herry cried, dashing forwards to help his friends. Theresa was right behind him, and even Odie. Jay and Neil spared a glance at each other, silently saying to each other:

'Work as a team. Settle differences later.'

Differences, meaning their relationships with Theresa. Together, they charged into battle side by side.

Cronus whirled around just to meet his face to Herry's furious fist. The muscular teen charged through, the sudden appearance of the teens startled the giants just long enough for Herry and Theresa to pass through unharmed. Herry whirled around to fight the giants while Theresa shot to Archie and Atlanta, barely remembering she was leaving herself open to any attack if one was aimed at her.

Archie was lying on the ground, his face twisted up in pain and his skin almost vibrantly white, which frightened her. Despite a large cut to the head, which didn't look all that bad, Theresa really couldn't find anything wrong with him.

Atlanta was panting heavily, bleeding from her right thigh, which had a huge cut across it. Judging by her position with her hands out in front of her and legs stretched behind her, she had tried to crawl over to Archie when she collapsed.

Wait, Theresa recalled, Chiron had been bandaging Archie's heel…

She gasped when she saw his bleeding heel. Obviously, it had been Cronus's doing- the clean, bloody slit could only have been made by a scythe's blade. What worried her was the fact that the skin around the cut was already an angry red, some black spots appearing around the edge of the cut. If Archie didn't see Chiron soon he'd…

No, she shook her head; it was all leading up to her vision. Archie couldn't die!

"Herry! I need your help! We have to get them out of here now!" she screamed over her shoulder.

In the back of her mind, she sensed the giant lunge at her, but a howl and bellow of pain brought her to her senses and she whirled around to se the giant retreat and Tulais standing in front of her. That was the second time he'd saved her in battle. She nodded her thanks to him and he snorted in reply before preparing for the next attack.

Herry was beside her in the next instant and she directed him to Archie.

"We need to get these two to my car, now. Cronus stabbed his heel, be careful."

"You got it," Herry nodded, lifting Archie into his arms, bridal style. Archie whimpered loudly, proving he was actually still faintly conscious.

"Sorry, buddy, but we have to get you to Theresa's car. Just hang in there, okay?" Herry told Archie as he began to run towards the parking lot. He noticed Archie tried not to cry out the rest of the run to the vehicles.

Meanwhile, Theresa was gently shaking Atlanta, "C'mon, 'Lanta, wake up!" she whispered frantically. There was so much blood everywhere, and it was all Archie Atlanta and Tulais's. (Not to mention Cronus and the giants)

Atlanta moaned and her green eyes flickered open, "Ther-esa? Where's… Archie! Where's Archie? He's hurt and Cronus and Tulais came and-" she bolted upright, falling against Theresa as the pain in her leg finally registered in her mind.

"Herry has him now, and we're getting the both of you out of here. Can you walk?" Theresa told her quickly, relieved that Atlanta was better than she looked.

Atlanta shook her head, "I think Cronus cut through my quad, I can't move this leg at all, and the pain is… it hurts a lot," Atlanta explained.

Theresa sighed, "Well, I'm not Herry but I think I can help you." She slung Atlanta's left arm over her shoulders and pulled both of their bodies upright. Atlanta hissed in pain, but said nothing. Together, the two of them slowly hobbled their way to where Herry had taken Archie.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Neil, look out!" Odie cried as Neil was nursing a scraped elbow. The blonde looked at him as if he had two heads, not understanding what the smaller was saying. He got up and ran over just as a giant punched the place where he'd been sitting.

"What did you say, Odie?" Neil asked.

"Never mind," Odie sighed.

Neil shrugged, "Okay."

Jay's yelp of pain brought them both back to their senses.

Their Leader was currently having his one-on-one battle with Cronus. Although the Titan had been wounded by Tulais, it was still a fairly one-sided battle.

Jay ducked out of the way of Cronus's scythe, trying to ignore the sharp pain in his shoulder, and parried another blow from the second scythe.

The two remaining giants ran past the mortal and immortal, too sore and scared to obey even Cronus's command of 'Get back here!'.

"Guys, we have to go- now!" Herry called from further up the path. Currently, Theresa was getting Atlanta into her car while Archie was lying on the back seats. Herry had whipped of his shirt and used it as a makeshift bandage for Archie's heel, trying to stop the bleeding.

Odie and Neil immediately ran towards Herry and the three turned to run.

Cronus smirked, "Go ahead, Jay. I'll let you run this time." Then he vanished.

Jay wanted to fall down and just sleep right then, but he got up and turned to follow his friends when his PMR beeped.

"Jay- we have to go _now_! Archie's barely breathing!" Theresa cried through the PMR.

"Go without me, I'll make my way back eventually. But look out for Cronus- he just disappeared," Jay told her instantly.

"He'll try to stop them. The Brat's on the brink of death right now- if you wait too long it'll be too late to save him," Tulais growled over his shoulder. Jay nearly jumped out of his skin in surprise, but Theresa heard.

"Okay, Jay, we're leaving… be safe."

And the line went dead before Jay could reply.

Tulais crouched down beside Jay, "Get on my back."

Jay stared in a mix of disgust and astonishment, "B-but you're a-"

"Yes I'm a demon you whelp! And you reek of Hera and the gods, but what use are you going to be slowly running around on your stick-legs while the rest of us are in the heat of battle? You're much more useful with me- considering you can wield that sword and not hit me," Tulais snapped, nose wrinkling up in a snarl.

Jay still wasn't sure. He was feeling torn between his loyalty to Hera and his duties as a Leader.

"Are you Archie's friend or not? If you are then you'll help him!"

Jay narrowed his eyes at the demon, "No," he said quietly, "I'm not Archie's friend…"

Tulais snorted and went to get up.

"I'm his Leader!"

Jay took Tulais's good horn and swung himself over onto the demon's back, sword held high. With a howl that sounded strangely like a laugh, Tulais shot off into the dark, following the scent of Archie's blood.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Huzzah! It's done!

Now, everyone, thank KitKat for making me finish this- seriously. She kept getting me motivated to work on it or I would have shot off into Kingdom Hearts and Beyblade again, but I'll stick around long enough to finish this at least ;)

And so, we have more Archie/Atlanta being all bloody, Tulais coming to the rescue, Jay being an angsty(yummy!) boy and then going all kick-butt at the end with the whole "I'm his Leader" cry.

So, anyways, will Archie survive? Will Atlanta live?

Someone WILL die in the next chapter.

I'll try to update soon,

Demenior


	25. Loss

Demons Within Me

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

Pairings: After all this time, what do you expect? It's obviously Hera/Jay and Neil/Archie, duh. Haha, just teasing- same as usual: Archie/Atlanta and Jay/Theresa/Neil.

Warnings: Blood, gore, character death. Minor cursing. Nothing too bad unless you're extremely squeamish and prude.

Chapter 25: Loss

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Herry did his best to drone out the overwhelming urge to run back and help Jay, but he trusted his leader and he'd also heard what Tulais said over the PMR. The night was very cold now that he had no shirt, but he hoped it would be put to a better use by wrapping up Archie's ankle with it. He wiped his hands off on his shorts very quickly, to get rid of any germs from Archie's ankle, and then slid his fingers into his finger-dents that were feeling more and more comfortable every time he drove his baby. Herry threw it into reverse, pushing on the gas and spun around, then threw her into drive and shot off ahead of Theresa. Odie and Neil had clambered into the back and were busy trying to buckle themselves in while Herry sped through town.

He checked in his re-view mirror and made sure that Theresa was behind him.

"Look out!" Odie cried from the backseat. Leaning forwards and pointing ahead with a shaky hand. Herry's eyes shot to the road and he saw Cronus and his two remaining giants standing in front of them. They were going to block the way- but not if he had anything to do with that!

"Tell Theresa to hold on for a second, I've go a road to clear!" he told Odie and Neil, "and strap yourselves in guys!"

He was in the zone, blocking out the other sounds around him. Hopefully Odie and Neil had heard him and he hadn't just thought he'd said to call Theresa, hopefully they were buckling up and preparing themselves. Herry slowed the truck down as he neared Cronus, he fingered the headlights nervously.

"Forgive me baby," he whispered, patting the dash lovingly.

Without giving any signal he threw the lights onto high beam and at the same time slammed on the brakes and shot forwards, feeling like it was him running head-on at the giants. The Titan of Time and the giants were momentarily blinded by the high beams and had no time to react as Herry shot into them, like a bullet. Metal crunched and tires screeched, or maybe that was the giants. The tremor that shot through his body rattling his teeth to the few fillings he had, all from chipping his teeth when he tripped; Herry had never had a cavity in his life. He pushed harder on the glass, bringing up and arm to shield his face as the windshield shattered and blasted him with glass. He desperately hoped that Odie and Neil were alright. There was a loud boom from the front of his truck and a hissing sound. Herry pulled his arm away form his face, wincing, and saw the smoke billowing form his engine.

"Everyone- everyone get out!"

He ripped his seatbelt off, trying not to feel too much for his poor, poor truck. It's just a vehicle, it's just a vehicle, he told himself again and again. He kicked the door open and leapt out, not paying any attention to the cuts and scratches on his body. He ripped open Neil's door and dragged a petrified Neil and hyperventilating Odie from the backseat and got them running when the giants, marred and bloody, attacked. Herry whirled to face them, but he realized now how raw and torn his hands were. He could only imagine what would happen if he were too attack the giants with these open wounds. That could mean... germs and diseases... he shuddered and tried to block the thoughts out. But his truck was destroyed and who knew what would be its fate later. He actually... felt afraid. Maybe it was time to retreat and nurse his wounds, let the less injured take up the fight for now. No, no, no! That was no way to think!

"If you want me, come and get me!" he cried, determined to hold them off from Theresa as long as possible. On a second thought, he realized Theresa and Cronus were gone. Hopefully Theresa could make it back to the school before Cronus could catch her. He shuddered, but could spare no time as a giant lunged at him.

As if materializing from the black night around them, Tulais flew over Herry's head, claws out and jaws agape. Shocked, Herry watched as Jay appeared on Tulais's back, brandishing his blood-stained sword like a hero of the Old days, rushing into battle on a mighty steed. The sheer poetic and beauty of the moment made Herry stop and watch, shocked to see how Jay had overcome his bitter resentment towards the demon and was now fighting alongside him. Tulais sunk his jaws into the forearm of the giant while Jay slashed at the head and neck area. The demon pulled away nimbly, Jay ducked low to avoid the counter swing from the agonized beast.

Some spark from Jay's bravery relit the fire in his own heart and Herry pushed away all thoughts of his truck, of the blood, the germs, of his own pain, and only focused on the battle. They must not get past, they must not get past!

"Go, Jay! We got this!" Herry heard himself cry as he rushed into the battle. With a start he realized that Odie and Neil were rushing alongside him. They would not get to Theresa and Atlanta and Archie- those three would remain safe! Jay turned and looked over his shoulder, still on Tulais's back, and nodded to Herry. Loyalty and friendship, admiration and thanks burned in his eyes and he nodded. Shouting something to Tulais, the demon howled and sprang off into the night, following the scent of blood.

"You won't get past me!" the strong hero bellowed, adding his own voice to the rages and shrieks echoing in the night.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Theresa kept her foot flat to the floor all the way. She continued blinking hard, trying not to think of the terrible crunch of metal as Herry's truck bowled into the giants. She tried to forget that Cronus had vanished seconds before Herry had hit him and tried not to imagine that he was up ahead, waiting. Most of all, she tried not to think about Herry, Odie or Neil and what condition they might be in right now.

Atlanta moaned loudly in the passenger seat, her head nodding as she fought to stay awake, eyes clamped shut tight against the wind.

"How's Archie?" Theresa cried. She couldn't hear him from the backseat, maybe because of the wind or because she was thinking of other things, but she just didn't want to believe the alternative.

For a moment she thought Atlanta hadn't heard her, but painfully the other girl turned her head and reached back to check on Archie.

"He... he's so... pale," Atlanta said, only just loud enough to be heard, "b-but he... he's still a-alive."

Good, Theresa thought, now if only he can make it to the school. No, not _if_ Theresa, _when_, she reminded herself. Archie and Atlanta would make it, there was no doubt. She shot around the corner and nearly shrieked in alarm. Theresa slammed hard on the brakes, her car swerving and trying to spin around in protest, wheels screeching against the asphalt.

She brought it to a stop, now sideways on the road, and looked past Atlanta to see the man standing before her. Clad in a dark suit, like a piece of star-less night sky that had been woven into clothing, pale skin with scars on each cheek and black hair, wisps of silver now showing through, stood Cronus. He looked down his hooked nose at her, poppy-red eyes narrowing amusedly as his face crinkled up in a grin.

"Ah, Theresa, I was hoping you'd be here. I have some unfinished business with those two passengers who are bleeding all over your car. I'll take them out of your hands now." He began walking forwards, calmly and very confident in his loud footfalls. Theresa looked around wildly; she had to get out of here! Archie didn't have much time before he was beyond hope, and Atlanta wasn't doing much better.

Said huntress was struggling to sit up straighter.

"Cronus," she spat, her voice hoarse, "get out of the way _now_ or I'll kill you."

Cronus seemed surprise at the spite in Atlanta's voice and his step faltered. He'd seen what humans, driven to their limit, to a point where they were toeing the line between life and death, and he knew of the immense strength they could pull from it. He was wary now- but not enough to run. Not yet at least, if all went well, he could finish off the Demonspawn and get his payment from Hera, ad after that he'd imprison her and all his children and grandchildren and rule the world.

"You feel strongly for this boy, don't you Atlanta?" he moved a little closer. Atlanta tensed and raised her fist to open the car door. The sound echoed through the quiet night air like gunfire. Slowly, and Theresa knew it was because Atlanta was fighting to stay conscious; Atlanta placed a foot on the road, but did no more. She was testing Cronus's limits, Theresa realized.

A confident grin began to sweep back onto Cronus's face. If he could push Atlanta's emotional limits, it might tire her body before she could attack.

"Is it that he's your friend?" Atlanta opened her mouth,

"Shut up, Cronus! You're here to fight, so call up your weapons!"

"You love him, don't you?"

Those words sent a sword through Atlanta's stomach, twisting up her insides. She started shaking uncontrollably, from fatigue or fear from the fact that Cronus could possibly be right, that she **loved** Archie.

Atlanta thought of all that had happened lately.

Training in the gym and he'd 'saved' her from that miss-fired bolo, he'd come into the water without much protest with her, he'd given her his hoodie and she still had it, holding it to reassure her occasionally. She'd felt mortified when she'd seen Archie hanging from Tulais's jaws that stormy day, and like the world was lighting up again when he forgave her for their little spat. They'd spent so much happy time together, buying a new hoodie for him, and he'd bought her lunch. She'd found herself admiring his body, when she didn't mean to and then he... they...

She and Archie had shared a kiss- almost.

"Cronus... just... just go away!" Atlanta shouted, her mouth was open to say more, but the pain and fatigue on her little body finally caught up to her and she passed out. Theresa reached over and pulled Atlanta the rest of the way back into the car. She closed the door, watching Cronus carefully. He had started approaching, but stopped and was looking past them. She didn't dare turn and look, for fear it was a trick, but the fear on his face seemed genuine. With a gulp, Theresa decided she could spare a glance.

And gasped as Tulais, Jay on his back looking to her, deep into her eyes with longing and... love, sailed over the hood of her car. Theresa felt her heart stir wildly, something she hadn't felt before, as she watched Jay let out a battle cry and swung his sword in a mighty arc over his head and brought it down on Cronus's summoned scythe. Tulais snarled and bit air as Cronus leapt back, narrowly avoiding the sharp fangs.

"Go, Theresa! You're their only hope now!" Jay called back. Realizing he'd just given her an order, Theresa jumped, her heart was the hoof beats of a million stampeding horses and her stomach was a cavern of butterflies. She turned the car as sharply as she could, the wheels spinning loudly on the pavement. Cronus tried to stop her, and as Jay and Tulais lunged forwards, Theresa felt her... her _love_ for Jay erupt like a fountain of unending power and as her eyes flashed with a purple haze, there was a loud sap in the air and Cronus was thrown back several feet, stunned. Tulais took the opportunity without question and leapt forwards, fangs barred.

She saw no more because she had already left the battle far behind. There was no more to think about, just getting Archie and Atlanta to the school, to Chiron, before it was too late.

It seemed like the school had come out of nowhere, suddenly springing from the earth in front of her. Theresa skidded into the parking lot, cursing when Atlanta hit herself against the dashboard (she hadn't had a seatbelt on since Theresa got her into the car in a big hurry) rather hard before Theresa could stop her.

Suddenly, Theresa found herself the problem. There was only one of her and two, most likely, dieing friends. She might be able to get Atlanta inside, if barely, but by then it might be too late for Archie after she finished explaining everything. And, with a sickening jolt, how ready would the gods be to help Archie since he was half demon? Stop it; she told herself, they've helped Archie plenty times before.

Like an answer to her prayers, Ares came sprinting down the steps towards her and the car, and with him was Hercules. Surprisingly enough, the Hero was keeping up without wheezing.

Not bothering to ask any questions, Hercules carefully lifted Atlanta and ran back, while Theresa dashed ahead to get the door open for them, and Ares snatched up Archie, rather harshly, and ignored the shout of pain from the teen.

Archie and Atlanta were raced to the special janitor's closet, which opened as they got near it, Theresa realized. Hercules and Ares took Archie and Atlanta right to Chiron's room, and Theresa finally slowed down outside the door. Persephone glided in a few moments later, looking to Chiron's door anxiously and then back to Theresa.

"Theresa, darling, sit down. You've done your work and now it's time for Chiron to do his-"

"I Saw Archie dieing, Persephone! I can't relax!" Theresa shrieked, nearly pulling out her hair, "Jay is still out there fighting Cronus and I don't know if Herry and Odie and Neil are still alive and for all I know they could all be dead by now! How can I relax?"

The next thing she knew, her legs had given out on her and she fell to the ground in an exhausted unconsciousness. Later, she might have wondered if Persephone had anything to do with it, but as dark and lonely as it was, it was a welcomed rest. When she awoke, which she hoped was only a short while later; shouts were coming from down the hall.

"You can't let him in here!"

"Get out of here!"

"Demon!"

Demon? That had to be... Tulais! And that meant Jay! Theresa leapt to her feet, realizing she'd been placed with a pillow under her head and a blanket over her body, and felt a dizzy spell coming on. Forcing the nausea aside, she ran forwards and turned the corner...

Only to trip and fall into Neil's arms, and nearly his lips, in the process. Herry, awkwardly shirtless but covered in bruises and cuts, and Odie and Jay were behind him, and with them, was Tulais. The demon narrowed his red eyes and bellowed loudly,

"Where is Archie?"

Theresa's eyes widened. She'd been about to ecstatically cry that they were all alive, but remembered that Archie and Atlanta were still in Chiron's room. And possibly wouldn't come out, alive. How could she have forgotten? Guiltily, she pulled away from Neil and looked at Tulais,

"Chiron's still looking after him and Atlanta. They're both in really bad shape."

Silence hung in the air.

"Sorry we took so long, "Herry finally said, "we had to fight some giants and... and my truck is... dead." Another silence, to grieve for the loss, followed.

"I'm going to see Archie," Tulais growled, almost daring someone to tell him otherwise and shoved his way forwards towards Chiron's room. The others followed quietly, and Theresa slowly slipped to Jay's side.

"We didn't beat him," he whispered, almost afraid to break the hanging silence, "but he was the one who ran. We... we were lucky Tulais was there. He's very skilled in battle." Theresa knew how much Jay meant it, since he often talked to her about his lessons with Hera, and knew that the image had been drilled into his head again and again that demons were pure evil.

"You were magnificent, on his back; I've never seen you like that before Jay. It was like, I was seeing you for the first time," she replied, just as quietly.

Jay said nothing, but she felt his fingers wrap around hers, wet and sick with blood and sweat. Theresa didn't care. She wanted his shoulder and his embrace right now, someone to lean on. She tried to ignore the holes burning in her heart from Neil's perfect blue eyes as he watched them.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Tulais had forced his way into Chiron's room and had headed instantly to Archie's side. He looked to the centaur for information. The healer shook his head,

"I'm afraid that he's lost too much life. There's no way he'll make it now. The girl, she'll live, but Archie has no chance."

The hackles on Tulais's neck rose and he growled deep in his throat. Turning, he roughly nudged Archie with his muzzle,

"Get up, Brat!" Archie didn't even moan in protest anymore, and Tulais felt horror to the core of his long-forgotten, cursed heart.

"I said get up!" Another shove and no response from Archie.

"Tulais," Chiron said slowly, "there's no point..."

And then the greatest demon of all demons, created by the gods themselves, threw his head back and howled.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Demenior


	26. Death Goodbye

Demons Within Me

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

Warnings: (Important!) Character death, plotting Neil and scary Hera. 

Pairings: (Major)Jay/Theresa!/Neil, more minor Archie/Atlanta and very strong family-bonded Archie/Tulais

Authors Notes: Not much to say, but you might want to grab a tissue. This chapter might shock some of you...

Chapter 26: Death (Goodbye)

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The group of seven teenagers was just rounding the corner where they could wait outside Chiron's room for Archie and Atlanta to wake up (they wouldn't think of the alternative) when they heard the howl. 

"No!" Theresa gasped, holding onto Jay for support. The others had frozen, eyes trained on the large wooden doors that were slightly ajar. It couldn't be... it couldn't be... no, no!

Hera suddenly ran past, and more surprisingly, Zeus was with her, "What is He doing here?" she was saying to herself. Jay's eyes flickered as he somewhat realized what he'd done, by allowing Tulais to come into the gods secret wing. He shook his head; he'd done the right thing. Archie was Tulais's descendant and Tulais should have the privilege to see his own bloodline one last time.

And one last time was all he'd get... Tulais wouldn't cry so loudly for Atlanta, it had to be Archie he was mourning. Despite himself, Jay still couldn't imagine the demon actually feeling sad. He hadn't realized that he'd sat down on the steps until he felt Theresa/s head on his shoulder. Tentatively, he put an arm around her and then held onto her tighter, for the sake of having someone to hold on to. 

Emotions threatened to come pouring out, but he bit his lip and held onto Theresa so tight he was unconsciously worried about hurting her. His tight embrace though made her clutch harder onto his shirt, burying her face into his neck as she cried for the both of them. Out of the entire group, she was the only one who was able to cry. Herry, Odie, Neil and Jay were too man to cry, on the outside at least.

Even though he did feel upset about Archie and Atlanta- all Neil could really think about was Jay and Theresa before him, holding onto each other so tightly it was like they wanted to meld together like two pieces of hot metal. He shivered as he watched Theresa crying into Jay's shirt, and he supporting her while he tried himself not to cry.

How _dare_ Jay take his Theresa! Jay never paid much attention to her before, and it was only after Neil himself had started to _like_ Theresa that Jay began to get jealous and pay more attention. Because he had to have everything he wanted- the good looks, the good girls, the good grades, the compliments, all the friends, all the knowledge, all the glory! Jay got everything, and Neil was sick of being called the coward. All he'd wanted was one good thing in his life- Theresa- and Jay was-had- Jay had taken that too!

Neil used to be able to look in his mirror (secretly watching and glaring at Jay's reflection as the Leader got the attention) and ignore all the good stuff Jay was getting, and casually shake off the 'coward' or 'lucky idiot' comments, but not this time. He'd get Theresa back and he'd get her back for good even if it meant selling his own mirror!

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"Tulais, I didn't mean it like that!" Chiron quickly corrected himself. 

Tulais whirled around, "Then what do you mean?" he snarled.

Chiron took an involuntary step back, and looked towards Archie's pale, limp form. The boy was gasping and wheezing for breath, his leg turning an ugly shade of black, purple, yellow and green as a bruise spread up his calf. Angry red lines were tracing their way up to his thigh and the rest of his skin, already sheet white, was turning a sickening yellow color.

"What I meant, Tulais, is that Archie will die, very soon, but he might have a chance if..."

"If what? Stop playing around you god-slave!" Tulais reared up to his full height, slamming a massive paw on the ground.

Chiron shuddered, "As I said before, Archie ahs lost too much life. The wound to the heel wouldn't be a fatal if it were on any other human, Archie's dilemma is that his actual lifeline is connected to his heel- and that is why it's killing him. I can seal the wound, but it will be too late to save him regardless unless...," when Tulais barred his fangs threateningly, Chiron didn't hesitate to continue, "unless I give him another Life energy."

Tulais's eyes widened, "That would call for a human sacrifice, would it not?"

A 'Life Transplant' was where one, usually a mortal, gave their own life force to a person of their choosing. It was very rarely done, for most people were too afraid to give their lives so readily, but it could be done with the proper ritual and know-how, which Tulais didn't doubt this Horse-Man was short on that knowledge.

Chiron nodded, "If I were to use a mortal- but if I were to use the life force of an immortal, I believe both would survive."

"You want me to do the Life Transplant?" Tulais interrupted. Every second they wasted dodging around the subject brought Archie closer to death.

"No, I mean... maybe. The only problem is that it will most likely make you mortal, Tulais. I would only need to use the energy that was sued to make you immortal to save Archie," the centaur explained.

Tulais nodded, and opened his jaws to speak when Hera and Zeus, followed closely by Ares and Hercules, barged in through the closed doors.

"How Dare you Enter This Holy Place You Demon!" Hera cried furiously.

Tulais's hackles rose, making him look larger than he was, and he snarled angrily. For a moment the gods faltered, but Chiron stepped between the opposing forces.

"Hera, Tulais has agreed to do a Life energy Transplant with Archie. Forgive me for my boldness, but I do not want any of this arguing or any fighting in my infirmary!"

Hera's eyes lit up when she heard the words, and despite being so rudely talked to by a lesser immortal, she nodded understandingly, "Very well. I assume, then, that the Demonspawn will live?" Tulais growled again at the insult, but made no further move to attack, "then I will go inform the children of what is happening. I trust you will have no use for me here, correct?"

Without waiting for a reply she turned to leave, but stopped as she assed Ares and Hercules, "After the Energy ahs left Tulais, he will be weak and most likely unconscious, better yet dead, but no matter what state he is in, I want you to snap his neck and kill him. Butcher him if you have to, I just want him dead as soon as possible. We'll deal with Archie later." 

With that, the Queen of the Greek gods left the room to meet the somber teenagers waiting outside. 

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Odie was the first to see the door opening, and in an instant he was on his feet. Hera dignifiedly stepped out from Chiron's room, facing them all with an unreadable expression.

"I am pleased to inform you that Atlanta is alive, and will make a full recovery." Seeing the smiles that graced their dirty and tear-streaked faces, if only briefly, warmed her heart a tad, "and... Archie is dieing."

The gasps and looks of horror that greeted her extinguished the warmth that she'd felt inside her only seconds ago.

"Can't we go say goodbye? How much longer does he have?" Odie cried. While the others all had a good relationship with Archie, Odie felt he and the Warrior had become very close friends over the course of time they'd spent together. Maybe it had something to do with their ancestors knowing each other thousands of years ago or maybe because they secretly respected each others' strengths, but he didn't know if he was ready to let Archie go yet. Odie didn't think any of them were.

Hera shook her head and held up a hand to silence the outbursts that followed her reaction, "Yes, Archie is dieing, but Tulais has agreed to give his life for Archie. Sadly, it is true that Tulais will die in the process, but since Archie is his descendant, he feels it is only right to do this for his own kind."

Deep down, Odie wondered if Hera resented demons and was making this up. Tulais, ready to give his life for someone he hadn't met until a few days ago? It seemed impossible.

"So, Archie and Atlanta are both going to live?" Theresa asked. Eager nods from the rest of the gang, save for Neil who only nodded briefly, Odie noted, explained that they were all thinking the same thing.

"Yes," Hera nodded, "they will both survive."

Cheers and hugs followed.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Hera was a fool if she thought he hadn't heard her instructions to Ares and Hercules. He was a demon after all, with heightened senses and she had stood so close that he could smell her clearly. Maybe she'd wanted him to hear her.

As if hearing his thoughts, Ares called out boldly, despite his cowardice nature, "So are you really going to give up your life for a half-breed? You can still run and live Tulais, just run away like always!" and he and Hercules laughed together.

Tulais snarled, almost hissing, in their direction and looked from Archie to the two laughing immortals.

It was true, he'd always run before. Maybe a long, long time ago, when he was a hero with a heart of gold who always fought for the right and justice, he would have immediately given his life away. But centuries of living alone, being hated and hating the ones he had worshiped for so long had changed him. He was very much not the same boy who had snuck Achilles away from that place where he had dressed up in girl clothes and had given him a dagger. Together they had roamed the streets, being boys, and lived in a bubble of laughter, adventure, scuffles and a friendship that would last them through their lifetimes. Yet after living as a demon for all these years, if he was to find a boy hiding as a girl now, would he pity him or turn away. His heart had long grown cold for not caring about anything but himself for so long, and now trying to decide whether his life, or the life of his _and_ Achilles' only direct descendant was tearing apart the false world of anger he had isolated himself in. 

They had met only briefly, talked almost never at all, and now he was being asked to give his life for this boy? In the short time he had known Archie, Tulais had felt his stone heart begin to beat again as he watched life grow and flourish in the youth. His first crush (and love) his own dark fears and joys. Could he let al that end after he had experienced them fully?

"You are not laughing," he commented to Chiron.

"I do not find the matter funny. I am rather serious when it comes to my medical work," the centaur replied calmly.

Tulais nodded solemnly. He seemed different creature now, not the courageous man who had set out with Achilles, or the love struck twit who had gotten himself cursed by the gods and no longer was the raging demon feared by all. Now... he was just Tulais, a long-before ancestor of this boy dieing in front of him. How many beings got to look upon their future bloodline?

He leaned forwards and licked Archie's cheek, "You owe me for this, Brat," he whispered before taking a step back to look at Chiron.

"I'll do it. I don't run away from anything," he narrowed his eyes at Hercules and Ares, knowing exactly what was meant for him by doing this exchange.

Chiron nodded, "Very well, lie here, around the head of the bed please," he instructed.

Tulais, for once, did as he was told. He stole a brief look to see Atlanta's descendant. Her bloodline was still as beautiful as ever. _Take care of her, Archie._ he thought.

Slowly he laid his head down on his paws, closing his eyes as he herd Chiron above him murmuring phrases and words that had no sense to him. He heard Ares and Hercules walking closer, waiting for him to loose strength.

And then, there was that feeling of nothingness. It was like suddenly being free of a prison too tight for one's body, yet he could still feel his own body and felt the hands grab the back of his neck. He knew what was to come and he flinched as he felt the snap that signified his own death. There was o turning back no, only moving forwards. Suddenly, he was sinking again. He felt himself get pulled into another cage, tapped and pressed on all sides. Bitterly, he laughed.

_"So this is all that awaits us? Eternity on a cage? Or maybe this is just your final revenge to me, Hera? Am I to never be able to apologize to Achilles? Will I remain locked away forever? I am still a demon and there is still strength in my claws, I will break out and when I do- I will destroy you all!"_

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

As Ares and Hercules carried the body away, only Zeus saw not only the silvery outline of life that was passed into Archie's body, but a second form that seemed a lot like a hand-sized form of Tulais, following closely after and almost invisible against the life force as it was absorbed by the Demonspawn.

"What are you up to, Chiron?" he demanded loudly, making the old centaur jump.

"Nothing, my Lord," Chiron replied, and yet there was a fear in his eyes that Zeus felt went beyond being startled. But he cleared his mind of it. He turned and left to go join Hera outside.

"Nothing at all," Chiron repeated as he looked down at Archie, feeling the weight of what he'd just done like a noose around his neck.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Archie felt in a daze. He was in some dark place, mist rolling over the land all around. There were no stars in the sky- if that was the sky he was looking at. He had no idea what was up or down in this place.

With a start he leapt back as cold red eyes opened before him. Amazed, Archie stared at what appeared to be the outline of some huge beast, probably as tall as he was with a long, fangs snout, big paws with sharper claws and two long horns on its head. Where had he seen this thing before? He struggled to remember, but nothing came to him.

"Go back," it whispered in a hauntingly calm, throaty voice.

"Go back."

"Go back? Go back where?" he asked, "what do you mean- who are you?"

The thing seemed to smile at his last question.

"I have to leave you now, but remember I'm never that far away. Now, go back, Archie. They're all waiting for you."

As if they had a will of their own, Archie's feet turned and he turned and walked away from wherever the beast had kept him from entering. The further away he got, the warmer he felt, the more the fog in his mind cleared and the more his heel began to sting. As one final memory, of Atlanta and him in the park, Cronus stabbing his heel, flashed though his mind, Archie began to shake as he realized where he'd just been kept from going. Without looking back, Archie broke into a run.

He came into his body gasping, sweating and struggling not to let go again. He could not go back there- no matter what. His leg was screaming and burning red-hot, and it was all he could do to keep himself from slipping away again, and he knew that this time tulais would not be there to stop him if he did enter. But he was here, and despite all the pain...

He was alive.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Alright! Archie's alive! And now we know what the character death I've been mentioning for so long is about.

Yes, sadly, it was Tulais. In the end, he was able to change and gave his life to save Archie. Quite sad. I'll sure miss him, he was a lot of fun to write, and I'm really shocked/happy that a lot of other people seem to like him too. We all must say goodbye someday though...

But I think he had to go because I don't want the 'Demons Within Me' story to start becoming all about Tulais, Archie and Atlanta (though that'd still be fun) I'm trying to avoid having a Gary-Sue sort of thing here. Besides, he's done his part and now it's up to Archie and Atlanta to get together on their own, and for Archie to fulfill the Prophecy or die trying.

So now, I am going to tell you a very special announcement.

The next chapter of 'Demons Within Me' will be the last.

I'm serious this time. Most likely, it will be longer than most chapters, as a special treat, and I hope you'll all like the ending and be satisfied for a short time at least. 

Anyways, I also want to say a special thanks to all of the people who have reviewed and stayed with me for this story. You guys are the driving force behind this.

Love from,

Demenior


	27. The Demon Within Me

Demons Within Me

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

Warnings: Angst, fluff, and plotting all in one. And one or two bad words, nothing I bet you haven't heard before though.

Pairings: MAJOR Archie/Atlanta, on the side was have Jay/Theresa/Neil

Authors Notes: Final chapter, guys! Enjoy the last of 'Demons Within Me'!

Chapter 27: The Demon Within Me

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

It was a blur of days, all mixed together. One minute, one year, one second or one day, it didn't matter. Everything melded together until one had no idea if they had fallen asleep when they closed their eyes, if they had ever walked before or if this wasn't all one big dream. All Archie knew was, he was impatient and had a burn in his legs that made it impossible to get comfortable. He was shifting again and again wary of his sore heel that was propped up on a pillow, but had to continuously stretch out his legs, shift to his other side, and tried to sleep the recovery away.

He and Atlanta talked a bit, but not very much because they seemed to sleep at the same time the other woke up so they both had a long time to think. Just think about anything. Chiron would come check up on them occasionally, but just told them to rest and a few other details, like how the others were all worried sick for them or that they were both going to make a full recovery. Though, Archie couldn't help but notice that Chiron always looked at him with a pang of sadness or regret whenever he said that.

While having all that time to think to himself was nice, Archie found he ended up having more and more conversations with himself, and to his amusement, imagining talking to Tulais. From what he heard from Atlanta, Tulais had come out of nowhere and attacked the giants as they tried to kill him. He'd fended them off until the others had arrived and then she didn't know any more. From his 'chats' with Tulais, Archie had come up with a few scenarios himself, and one that seemed very far-fetched is that Tulais had fought with Jay to help Theresa drive Atlanta and himself the rest of the way back to the school. Jay, and Tulais, working together. Yeah right.

You're going crazy, Archie he mused to himself.

_/You were crazy to begin with/_ 'Tulais' commented to him.

Oh, thanks. That really helps my self esteem Many-times-great-Grandfather Archie felt a smile tug at his lips, but he held it off. Best not to look like a grinning idiot when nothing's happening around you. Although, he felt like he hadn't smiled in ages. All the shock of learning about his heritage and the gods' plans for him had been weighing down on him heavily.

_/Well, you have to understand that your Leader does care for you. As does young Atalanta- and I think you might want to wake up before she goes back to sleep./_

Wha? Archie cracked open an eye and saw Atlanta watching him curiously. He opened both eyes and gave her a half-hearted smile. She smiled back and rested her head on her pillow.

"So... your heel feeling better?" she asked. Her voice sounded so strange in the silence that the two of tem had been living in so far, not to mention she had a raspy, somewhat hoarse voice form not using it for so long.

"A little," Archie replied, finding his voice sounded much the same.

"Good." There was a brief moment of silence as they both burst into giggles. 

"We need to talk more," Archie told her. She nodded. Her eyes flickered slightly, and he watched her try to stifle a yawn.

"Get some sleep," he said calmly, "you need it."

Atlanta was recovering so slowly compared to him. Even though Archie knew it was because of his demon blood, it still kept him worried. Secretly, when he was sure no one was in the room, he'd tried walking around, well it was more like hoping on one foot and falling a lot, but he often checked up on her and would pull up her blankets around her shoulders or fluff up the pillow under her leg. Only when he was sure she was asleep. He didn't know if he'd be able to stand being stuck in the same room as her if she rejected him.

They'd hardly talked, and when they did it wasn't about anything really. Neither of them wanted to face reality right now, with everything that had happened. Deep down Archie was quite sure they both knew just how much trouble they were going to be in for sneaking off in the middle of the night and they'd have to fess to where they were going. What made him more nervous was the fact that if the gods knew he'd gone to see the Oracle, they would want to know why. He wouldn't have to tell them, but that would make them even more suspicious. Archie was feeling at his wits end stuck inside the gods' secret wing without being able to run or fend for himself, and he was scared to death that Chiron would be giving him poison whenever the centaur would give them their medicine.

He barely head Atlanta's 'mmhmm' of agreement as she nuzzled her head into her pillow and pulled her blankets up around her. If she was feeling annoyed with being cooped up all the time, she was hiding better than he was.

Archie himself tried to get some sleep, rolling back and forth, trying to imagine a peaceful scene or count sheep leaping over a fence. Nothing worked. On a side thought he tried counting Tulais's jumping over a fence, but that didn't work either.

Archie rolled over again and looked at Atlanta, as loud as he dared, he hissed her name and when she didn't stir, he tried again. She didn't wake up. Satisfied, he forced himself into a sitting position, waiting for the lightheadedness to stop. The cut to his head had a nice big bandage over it, since it actually wasn't that big, but had just bled a lot.

Carefully, he looked around and pushed himself up, staggering and nearly fell over. Archie grabbed the side of his bed for support, steadying himself with most of his weight on his left foot. He kept his teeth clenched to keep from crying out as he began to make his way around his bed. If he could circle it without stopping, he'd feel a lot better about himself.

He let out a grunt as he tried to step down on his right foot. His heel protested painfully and despite his usual 'immune to pain' attitude, Archie didn't dare go any further for fear of bringing on that blinding, paralyzing pain that he could remember form when Cronus had stabbed his heel. With a shudder, Archie realized that had been the second time his heel had been stabbed. He screwed his eyes shut, trying not to start shaking at the memory of what had happened so long ago, and found he felt a lot better than before when he thought about it. At least, he didn't seize up and start shaking uncontrollably. He was shaking, but he could still think.

He remembered the flash of gold and the pain in his heel and all the blood.

//Haven't you seen that before?//'Tulais' growled.

Archie paused. Now that he thought about it, it did seem familiar. Where had he seen that gold- that 'fork' shape before? It had something to do with water, didn't it? Since the attack had come when he was in the water. Archie remembered the voice he'd heard before being attacked, the one that separated him and that Water-Woman with the blast of water.

That Demonspawn will be better off once he's dead

The gods were planning to kill him, he was calmer thinking about that now. He knew Hera was leading this, so he knew he had to deal with her if he wanted to live. But what if they'd tried to kill him before? Maybe he wasn't supposed to be alive right now- but he'd survived by chance. And now, he was here... so that they could follow him and kill him when they needed to.

Archie grabbed onto his bed for support as his knees gave out on him. All this time, he had been living in a deathtrap. They could have killed him any time- Athena might have stabbed him while he was sleeping or while she was making breakfast, Chiron any time he'd had a wound tended to, Ares every time they sparred or did the early morning training, or even Hephaestus when he'd go in just to see all the junk crammed in the back of Hephaestus's workshop. At any point he could have been murdered and the gods would probably make up some story to convince his friends that it was Cronus or some other factor.

_/The Oracle told you to trust wisely, and have deep faith, remember?/_ Tulais commented.

And how would you know? Archie felt his heart racing and having 'Tulais' come barging into his thoughts whenever he pleased was a tad infuriating.

_/I went through your memories./_

Archie scowled, Don't. he thought. 

Feeling fueled by frustration, and fear Archie didn't admit to himself because Tulais would tease him about that, but he tried to get up again. His heel hurt more than ever and he fell onto his knees. He just barely managed to get back onto his feet and sat down on the bed when Tulais barked at him.

_/Someone's coming!/_

Archie threw himself down, just getting his smarting foot onto the pillow as Chiron opened the door, and with a gulp, Archie noticed Hera was with him. He closed his eyes and tried to be asleep, as well as breathe normally and not wonder if Hera was going to kill him now.

"Interesting. I swear I heard someone awake," Hera said as she stood with Chiron between the two beds.

Chiron chuckled, "Believe me, Hera. I'd know if any of my patients were up and moving by now. Both of these two are probably hating to be so confined, I'm surprised they're not complaining yet."

"Yes, well, we should let them sleep, I guess," Hera replied. Archie kept his breathing normal, though he couldn't quite shake the thought that she was directing the comment at him. He heard the door close and sat up with a sigh. And with a start realized that Hera was standing before him with a smile on her face.

"H-Hera!" Archie stammered.

"Glad to see you're awake, young one," Hera said kindly, "why were you pretending to be asleep?"

Archie looked down, "I... I don't really feel like talking," he tried to force up a sheepish smile for her and she seemed to buy it.

"I understand, but will you answer a few simple questions for me?"

Archie nodded, trying his best to pretend he had no idea of what she was really doing.

"How is your foot? You gave us quite a scare the other night," she sat down on the edge of his bed and Archie forced himself not to edge away. 

"It's... better. I hope I can take a run soon, I'll die before I get out of here," he complained. She laughed, but immediately Archie knew it was forced.

"So I take it you can't walk yet."

"Nope." He bit his tongue after spitting out the answer too quickly.

_/Idiot/_ Tulais muttered.

Hera nodded slowly, "Now, we've been missing some books from our library for a few days now. I had a feeling you might have them- they are on demons after all," there was a veiled look in her eyes and instantly Archie felt his blood run cold. Hera knew.

She knew he'd been there, when she was talking to Ares outside of the library, she knew that he'd found out he was a descendant of Tulais on his own and she knew that he knew that she was going to kill him.

"Y-yeah. I w-w-wanted to look up on T-Tulais- I mean, demons, since I am his descendant and all," Archie felt himself grow a bit more confident as he lied. Hera only thought he'd learned of his lineage from Tulais, but he was throwing her off by saying he knew of it sooner, "and I think I might be able walk sooner than later, possibly even get back on track with Ares' training. Could you put in a word with him, he hasn't been training me lately."

Archie knew he'd taken his good luck too far when anger flared up in Hera's eyes. She opened his mouth to yell, and then probably kill him then and there, but another noise made both of them stop.

Atlanta yawned loudly, sitting up and tiredly rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. She noticed Hera and her eyes lit up,

"Hello Miss Hera," she said in her throaty, crackly voice. Archie watched Hera put on a false smile.

"Good morning Atlanta," she said in a sickly sweet voice, "I hope you feel better soon. The team misses you."

She got up and left with a final glare at Archie that made him shiver and want to curl up under the blankets.

_/Go to sleep, I'll let you know if the hag comes/_ Tulais told him.

Archie didn't know why he trusted a voice in his head to save him, but he did what he was told and curled up without talking to Atlanta and fell asleep. 

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Atlanta was only half awake as Hera left, but when she turned back to talk to Archie, he had his back to her and was going to sleep. Pouting, she let him fall asleep and waited until his breathing was slow and calm, indicating he was really asleep.

Slowly, painfully, she sat up and looked around. Slowly Atlanta peeled off the blanket and took a look at her leg. Her thigh still stung sharply, but Chiron's medical care had done wonders for her and already she was hoping it was the ability to walk she was feeling tingling in her toes. 

Atlanta looked over to Archie, who she couldn't help but admit looked very cute all curled up to his chin in his own blankets, and smiled. Momentarily she wished she had his hoodie with her so she could cuddle it, and then nearly burst out laughing at the thought of having Archie wake up with her snuggling his old hoodie.

Yes, she could finally admit it, she a least had a _crush_ on Archie. Not just a simple liking-him-a-bit-more-than-a-friend, but a full-blown crush. Atlanta couldn't believe she had a crush, and Archie of all people (or demons) but she couldn't help but enjoy being closer to him now, at least, enjoying it more than before.

She sighed, how would anyone on the team react if they found out? Archie was half-demon, what was it with her and non-human guys? It must be true then, there was, and still is, not man who can tame Atalanta or Atlanta. Only half-humans, like Pan and Archie, could woo her over. She stifled a giggle at that.

Anyways, Herry would probably just give her a pat on the back, Odie would shift nervously at any mentions of relationships, Neil would say something like 'of course the worst-dressed get together' and Theresa would cheer and give her a big hug, and then avoid Archie since they never did get along that well. Jay, on the other hand, Atlanta had no idea how he'd react. Would he really care? Would he be angry? Would he start another fight like before? Would he say 'good choice' or laugh and say 'finally' or something like that? He'd been so hard to understand lately, Atlanta was sure only Theresa had any notion of what he was like now. More than ever Atlanta wanted to drag her sorry body across the gap between them and curl up with Archie, or just have someone hold her. 

She growled in frustration and flopped back onto her pillow, hissing as her wound flared with a wave of pain. Cronus was going to hurt for every minute she was not able to go running.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The next few days passed much the same. Still, they weren't allowed any visits form the outside, though Archie and Atlanta were both getting many messages that the gang was worried about them and wanted o know how they were. Also they were told that Cronus activity had been quieter lately, almost like the Titan had given up. They gave Hermes messages that they were both sick of recovering and couldn't wait to get back on the track, and if it was even possible, they were even excited for training. Even if Archie wrote this with a pang of nausea in his gut.

He and Atlanta began talking more, and he was walking better when he practiced while she was sleeping. He stopped having as many random conversations with Tulais in his head and couldn't wait to get out and visit the real one soon. More often, he was talking to Atlanta, worrying about the gods, talking to Tulais about how he might solve this problem with the gods, trying to strengthen his leg, or thinking about Atlanta. He was very busy.

So finally, one day, he was lying in the bed for what seemed like the millionth year, when he had an itch in his legs that he hadn't felt in a long time. Cautiously, Archie got up and looked around, Tulais told him no one was coming, and so he slipped out of bed. After a few awkward steps, he felt much better on his heel, though it still throbbed, but he wanted to try something more.

Hesitantly, he picked up his hobbling pace and did a fast-walk around his bed. As he began to feel more confident, Archie picked up his pace even more, still limping, but he was moving! It was incredible, how had he survived without walking, in the least, for so many days/years/months.

After what seemed so short, but so exhilarating, Tulais warned him that someone was almost at the door. Archie dove back for his bed, and pretended to be just waking up. Chiron came in and smiled at him, trotted over to his desk, got some painkiller medicine, and then gave him some pills, which to Archie's detest happened to be aspirin, and checked up on his heel. 

"Amazing," Chiron said slowly, "your recovery rate is simply amazing. I should say that you just might be able to move around, with crutches at least, in a few days. Could you, if it doesn't hurt too much, take a few steps for me?"

Archie felt his happiness soar as he heard Chiron, and almost too eagerly leapt to his feet and took a few, still-hobbling steps, around while Chiron watched, with almost too much focus. Archie began to feel unnerved by the centaurs gaze and stopped walking to rest a moment. 

Chiron shook his head, "I'm sorry. By any chance you haven't..."

"Haven't what?" Archie asked, folding his arms across his chest. He felt even more open since his hoodie had been taken from him while he was unconscious the first time and he'd been left with his white undershirt.

"Never mind," Chiron shook his head, "just, practice walking a bit and make sure to take a lot of rests when you feel somewhat tired."

Archie nodded slowly and limped back to his bed as Chiron checked up on Atlanta, nodding in satisfaction at her recovery thus far, then turned and left. 

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Archie practiced a lot more with walking, now that he had Chiron's okay to walk. Atlanta would often scowl and throw her pillow at him, in good humor, when he was limping around. They began to talk more and he'd go over and sit on the edge of her bed. It was nicer, being able to be closer with her, and Archie enjoyed giving her a pat on the shoulder here and there.

All the while he was limping; the pain in his heel was getting to be less and less each passing day (he assumed). Archie was having more trouble sleeping, he was so full of energy lately, and was often pacing back and forth across the room just to try and relieve some of the energy in his legs.

He was trying to sleep, trying to ignore the tingling in is legs that usually meat he had to move around, and had his eyes clamped shut. When the feeling didn't stop, Archie rolled over again and again until he couldn't stand it anymore.

"Fine then," he muttered as he sat up. Without really thinking of what he was doing, he got out of bed and limped to the big wooden doors. He slowly pushed one open, looked around, and then headed down the hall towards the gym.

It felt amazing being back in the room, seeing something other than Chiron's medicine books or the actual medicine that he and Atlanta would have to take later. He loved the slightly-sweaty smell, mixed with the smell of rubber from the track and all the light that was pouring in from the huge windows.

Slowly he made his way down to the track and began just walking, slowly getting faster. His eyes smarted from all of the brightness of the room, so he was careful to watch where he was going in case he ran into something.

_/Oh, get on with it! Just run, Brat!/_ Tulais told him.

Archie nearly laughed out loud at how similar the voice in his head and the real Tulais sounded, and then broke into a run. It was an awkward, limping run, but his strides grew more powerful and slowly his limp faded.

It was like having chocolate after a gross meal, or like a spark of love between enemies. After all that bad, this was just a brand new level of happiness.

As Archie ran around the gym, he failed to see Theresa and Jay stop their intimate moment together to watch him briefly, before Jay kissed her again and then their attention was only on each other.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Well, I think both of you have finally recovered enough to leave. Just, take it easy please and don't be getting into any more fights," Chiron said as his face wrinkled in a smile. Archie had gotten very good at reading the hidden emotions in people, and he could see that Chiron was hiding something.

After his run in the gym, Archie had felt more recovered than ever, and his heel hardly hurt anymore. Atlanta was on crutches now, and had actually been getting around while he was sleeping without him knowing. It made them both laugh to find out they'd been practicing without letting the other know. 

Currently, the two of them were waiting on the steps of the school for the others to arrive to take them home. Archie was extremely grateful to be out of the gods' secret wing, and both of them were extremely grateful for the fresh air. It was a bit chillier out than Archie remembered. Hermes was waiting with them and kept shifting from foot to foot nervously.

When Herry's temporary truck drove up, it was a dark blue and had no uncovered trunk, Archie and Atlanta barely had any time to help each other up before the flood of their five friends surrounded them and hugs and slaps on the back were in order. When all was done, though the excited chatter had only begun, they began to head back to the truck. Hermes tugged on Jay's sleeve and pulled the Leader aside. Archie looked back, wondering what was going on.

"He doesn't know..."

Jay cast a glance in his direction, a sad and pained one, and Archie was curious as to what they were taking about. They were talking about him, but why? Instant thoughts of betrayal and murder plans crossed his mind, but he shrugged them off. Jay's look didn't seem dark or dangerous at all. 

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

The drive back to the Brownstone was rather noisy. Everyone wanted to catch up with each other, it turned out Archie and Atlanta had been stuck inside for around a week and a half. Their recovery had been amazing in that amount of time, considering they were both getting around now, one with and the other without crutches. Jay and Theresa didn't mention anything about seeing Archie in the gym.

Odie was even more interested in how fast Archie had healed, considering how terrible he'd looked when Theresa had driven off with the two of them bleeding all over her car. By the time they got to the place they now called home, it was as if the whole fiasco with Tulais had never happened.

When they went inside, Jay had Archie and Atlanta sit in the living room and quietly told the others to leave. The mood of happiness that they'd all felt before suddenly fell away and they were left with the tension they'd been living with for so long now.

"The... the first night you were in Chiron's room, Archie, you weren't supposed to live," Jay began slowly.

Archie shrugged, "So? Tons of people live when they're not supposed to." He inwardly flinched at how close to home he words hit.

Jay shook his head, "You don't get it! You shouldn't even be here! If it-"

"What?" Atlanta whipped her head around to look at Jay, "how can you say such a thing? You heartless-"

"No! What I mean is-"

"Don't cut me off, Jay!" Atlanta hissed.

"Atlanta be quiet! I'm trying to explain!" Jay snapped at her.

"What? That we don't want Archie? Is that it?" Despite her injury, and all the times that Chiron had warned her, Atlanta was struggling to stand up.

Jay was the first to move and pushed her back down onto the couch, "Look, Atlanta, just listen to me and I'll explain. You're taking this all wrong!"

The whole while he was trying to calm down, Jay had started squeezing Atlanta's arms and now she was squirming. 

"Jay, let go!" she growled.

"Not until you calm down," he replied coldly, doing his best to remain calm.

"Jay!"

Archie hadn't even realized he'd moved, not that he'd ripped Jay off of Atlanta, or that with a single punch he'd thrown Jay to the floor. He came too as Jay starred up at him in horror, pinned to the floor. Why was he seeing so clearly all of a sudden? It was like he could see the veins under Jay's skin, the perfect place to strike that would cause a quick and painless death and- no, no! What was he thinking?

"Just spit out what you want to say!" Archie snarled.

Jay was silent for a moment, still frozen in shock, before recovering and shoving Archie off him. By now the scuffle had caught the attention of the other residents of the house and they were gathering in the room.

"If Tulais hadn't given up his life- you wouldn't be here!" Jay cried.

Archie froze. Atlanta froze. It wasn't possible. Tulais, dead? Archie starred at Jay, eyes wide. 

"No... no... No! It's not right! You're lying you bastard!" Archie shrieked, leaping to his feet to face Jay.

Jay's eyes went wide again ad he took a step back, the others gasped in shock. Archie ignored them and shut his eyes tight and ran past everyone, up the stairs and into his room. It couldn't be true- it wasn't! Tulais wasn't dead!

Atlanta didn't look up but took her crutches and limped into the kitchen, away from the others.

After the two had left, Odie looked around nervously and nudged Herry in the ribs. He nodded his head away and the two of them went downstairs to Odie's room. Neil remained stock-sill, watching Jay and Theresa. Jay looked to Theresa, with wide eyes, and she jumped forwards and wrapped her arms around his neck.

After a moment, Neil coughed and the two pulled apart awkwardly. He stepped forwards, putting himself between Jay and Theresa, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright Therri?"

She looked at him with wide eyes and felt her heart skip a beat when his blue eyes met hers. Over Neil's shoulder she saw Jay watching her with shock, and a mix of betrayal. Theresa choked back a sob and turned away and ran upstairs. She couldn't chose between Jay or Neil- they both meant too much to her.

Neil flashed Jay and confident grin before pulling out his mirror as he walked upstairs. Jay glared holes in the back of Neil's shirt, but he didn't have time to bother about Neil right now, Theresa loved him and he loved her, right?

More pressing matters were presenting themselves now, Jay shuddered as he recalled Archie's appearance earlier.

Archie's eyes had been red. Just like Tulais's.

Just like a demon. 

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Archie had lost track of time. His sob-like breathing was all he could hear, all he paid attention to. He had no idea whether to cry, to cheer, to be a man or to give up all hope and shrivel away in the corner. Tulais was gone. His only link to his past, to his ancestors, to his bloodline, was gone. There was still so much he wanted to know, needed to know, and now Tulais was gone. His shoulders shook again as he fought back another tear. No, he hadn't cried since he was a little, naÃ¯ve boy, and he wouldn't start now.

His hoodie and ankle brace lay discarded on the floor. Archie took a disgusted look at his right heel. He could still see the jagged scar left from the attack in the water... from Poseidon, he thought with a jolt. And within it, still a rather livid red color was the thin slit that had nearly taken his life, but cost his ancestor's his own instead. What was it that mad him so important that the people he trusted turned on him and others close to him were getting hurt- and dieing- because of him? Archie choked back another outbreak of tears, and quickly wiped away the one tear that dare leaked out. No, he'd have to settle this with Hera once and for all- even if he was so alone in all this.

_/You're never really alone/_ 'Tulais' spoke for the first time in a few days.

What do you care? You're just making me feel even worse than before! Archie covered his ears with his hands, willing for the voice to stop. He didn't want to hear this imagined voice of his ancestor right now. He was already stressed and upset enough!

_/Oh, why? Because you're crying for me? Suck it up, Brat, you're not even as half crazy as you will be soon./_

What? Why don't you just shut up and crawl back into my mind, I'm sick of you pretending to be Tulais. Archie didn't reply to the voice again.

"Stupid... my life is a mistake," Archie muttered, uncurling slowly. He was leaning on his bed, facing the door. Listlessly, he kicked one of the books he'd taken from the library on demons aside with his right foot. For a moment he enjoyed the feeling of pain it brought to him, letting him know he was still human at least.

A knock on the door brought him out of his macabre thoughts. Archie was on his feet, wiping away his sad expression with the back of his hand and sprang to the door. He opened it a crack, just enough to see Atlanta's teary eyes looking back at him.

"Archie? Can... can I come in?"

Archie nodded and took a step back, opening the door wide enough for her to maneuver herself, crutches and all, in. He closed the door behind her with a quiet click, but it sounded like a gunshot in the silence. Atlanta stood still, staring at the floor. Archie made his way over to his bed, kicking some items of clothing and books aside to make a simple path for her. She didn't move until he walked back and touched her shoulder.

"'Lan... are you... okay?"

She looked up at him and Archie was shocked to see that she was forcing herself to not cry, but the tears were gathering in her eyes and in shame she wiped at them to try and stop. Her shoulders were shaking badly and she looked away from him. 

"At...lanta?" Archie placed his hand on her other shoulder. This wasn't the fearless Hunter he'd come to know (and love).

"Damn it, Archie!" Atlanta threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly, and sobbed into his chest. Archie wrapped his arms around her instinctively, pulling her close. In a way, this was how he'd always imagined them together, and now in the moment, it just didn't seem right. He bit his lip harshly to keep himself from breaking out in tears as well.

The stood like that, Archie squeezing her tightly as he struggled not to cry, and Atlanta crying so hard she was shaking. After a few minutes she dried up her tears, hiccupping and sobbing feebly. Without waiting any longer, Archie tried again to push his tears aside and easily picked up Atlanta, bridal style. She didn't even ask but kept her face buried in his shoulder as he set her down on the bed and sat down beside her.

"Wh-why are you crying?" Archie asked, keeping an arm around her shoulders.

"T-Tulais... he's gone. So... soon. I- I didn't get to- to meet him. And I-I hate the wa-way Jay and ev-everyone's been act-acting to you, e-even me! Why does it-it matter that y-you're half d-demon?" Atlanta squeezed his arm as she spoke, and Archie looked away. She was honestly worried about him, him, of all people she could worry about.

"I-I know. But they c-can't r-really help it, can th-they? P-people suck, you k-know?" Archie tried to smile for her, anything to keep her form crying, but she shook her head.

"Don't, A-Arch. I'm your friend, I know you. You're just as sad as I am and you're hurt by everyone even me!"

"I'm fine," Archie said quietly, looking away again. He couldn't stand to meet her gaze, not when he was lying so openly.

"Stop being such a man! Just cry for once- it'll prove you're more human than demon!" Atlanta pulled away from him, sitting up to look in right in the eye. 

Archie stopped. Slowly he turned to look at her, "More human than demon? Is that was this is all about? I'm not human enough?"

"No! It's nothing like that! I-I'm sorry, it just ca-came out l-like that. I don-didn't mean it, you're just as great as the rest of us, I mean it," Atlanta pleaded. Despite the fact that her words had stung deeper than either of them knew at the moment, Archie felt his anger melt away. He nodded slowly in acceptance.

"Archie... I want to ask you s-something," Atlanta said quietly, "about us... I'm so confused right now- where do we stand? Before I thought we were just friends but now, after Tulais and everything, I don't know! I feel... different. And I don't know if it's good or bad or, what it is!"

Archie held his hands together in his lap. In the back of his mind he could hear Tulais telling him to just spit it all out, this was the golden opportunity after all, and stop being such a wuss.

"Atlanta," he mumbled quietly, "don't.. I- I'm a demon's descendant and-"

"Look, Archie, ever since we learned of our ancestors, we've all compared ourselves to them. Don't think you're the only one. But then you found out- met- your other ancient ancestor. Now you're more comparing yourself to Tulais rather than Achilles. I don't care what you look like, or how you think. I know that Tulais told you that you were nothing like Achilles and I don't care. He's wrong. You're more like Achilles than you'll ever know Archie. Let me be the first to tell you, you may be half demon but you're a true hero. Both Achilles and Tulais should be proud to have you as their descendant," Atlanta reached over and put her hand on his. Her touch was so soft compared to the blows and words he'd been beaten around with lately.

Archie stared at her. Somewhere, deep, deep down, e knew it. It was something that had been a part of him ever since learning he was a hero. The need to meet expectations, to live up to a great name such as Achilles, and be as terrible as Tulais, at the same time. What Atlanta had said had so much meaning, he was shocked she could even say something to powerful, and he didn't know how to reply. He felt tears forming in the corners of his eyes, not quite tears of sadness, but of thankfulness.

He pulled Atlanta into a warm embrace and whispered 'thank-you' over and over into her ear. Finally, when they'd pulled away, he took a deep breath and looked at her. This was it, the big moment.

"I-I have something to tell you as well," he said.

"Really?" she smiled half-heartedly for him. He felt the fluttering of butterflies in his gut, that smile was just for him.

"Yeah. I really, really..." Archie trailed off as he realized what had been holding him back for so long. Right then, in that moment, he knew he'd never be able to tell Atlanta what he thought of her. He'd never get the words to form or this same courage ever again.

Instead, he reached out and cupped her cheek in his hand and gently pulled her forwards as he leaned the rest of the way and met her in a soft, passionate kiss.

_I Love You_ he wanted to say, three simple words that, when combined, were nearly the most powerful force on the planet. Archie wasn't strong enough to say it, Tulais just couldn't feel it anymore and Achilles had never truly cared for it. What a sad trio indeed.

At first, Archie could only think that he was kissing **her** he was kissing Atlanta! Slowly that shock and joy turned to dread and despair as he realized what he was doing. He was **kissing ****_Atlanta_** How would she react? What would she think of him?

Then, she brought her arms up around his shoulders and pulled him closer. She was kissing **him**!

The broke apart for air, looking at each other in a complete daze.

"I do too, Archie, I do too," Atlanta answered him. She choked on a sob and Archie couldn't understand why she wanted to cry when he felt he could get up and run, dance and cheer like he was five years old again. Instead, he leaned close and whispered to her,

"Well you're stuck with me now."

She looked up at him and smiled, then leaned in for another kiss and he happily agreed. Archie leaned back and pulled her onto the bed, not trying to tangle with their tongues or get each other naked, but just lie together in each other's arms in their uncomplicated act of love.

**END**

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

_Stares in shock_

It's... over? Wow, now I have a lot to tell you here!

Anyways, so this is the first fanfiction I've ever finished- EVER! So be happy! I can't believe DWM is over, and this last chapter was so darn long! I think it's worth the wait.

Archie and Atlanta are together, Neil is spicing it up with the whole triangle going on there, Herry and Odie are almost at level nine on Odie's video game and Hera is plotting Archie's death. Can you wait for the sequel? Hope so.

A few notes on DWM that I think you might enjoy:

I wanted to have Archie visit Tulais out of his own free will a few more times, and have Atlanta develop a strong relationship with Tulais.

In the original planning, it was Theresa who rode on Tulais's back all the way to the school- not Jay.

In the very, very original planning, Tulais as Archie's ancestor never existed. Instead, Tulais was actually part of Archie, and the prophecy foretold that Archie would have to fight his 'inner demons' because Tulais had been sealed inside of him a long time ago. Therefore, he would be able to actually turn into Tulais in battle and such. I scrapped it after I took a second look and saw Naruto scribblings beside it.

After scraping the earlier idea, Archie was actually going to die to save Atlanta, and actually die, and Tulais was going to switch bodies with the dieing Archie, so then Archie would be in Tulais's body and Tulais would die as Archie. Sadly, it just didn't work. I need to keep Archie human for now.

So, now done, I just want to thank everyone again for their support, and everyone needs to say a sad goodbye to Tulais. He's not making another appearance, not coming back. But he was fun to write- and I'm glad that most people liked him as a character!

So, I guess, this is it... what should I say now- at the end of a fanfiction?

-Don't do drugs-

Demenior

p.s. Did you know, every time you don't review- someone close to you gets a wart. So save your family and friends and review, don't give them warts.


End file.
